OHS’s very own math department played cupid for two of the most loved teachers on campus: the Anderson’s. Love for math was not the only affinity the two shared, their friendship growing over the years. Timing, commonalities, and the perfect situation set up the two for the future, not just within OHS, but their own lives.
Individual circumstances led the couple down two very different paths to OHS around the same time, ten years ago: happy coincidence or trusted fate?
“When we were younger, we were both looking for friends in a sense. You think as a kid it’s really easy to have a whole bunch of friends, but as you age, you kind of lose friends along the way, because of life. She was in a position where she really wanted friends because she moved from Seattle, and I was in a position where I was just trying to make my way in this world,” said Nolan Anderson, math teacher.
A convenience of mutual colleagues quickly turned into friendship, and eventually a relationship of their own, all within their respective time teaching at OHS.
“We were both in the same place at the same time, and both happen to teach math; we started as friends, and then a tale old as time,” said Carrie Anderson, math teacher.
Teaching math may be what the two are known for on campus, but their personalities are what lead to both their success within the workplace, individually, and their own relationship.
“I think we’re both passionate towards just about anything in life, we’re pretty happy-go-lucky people, but we’re serious when it’s time to be serious,” Nolan Anderson said.
Sharing similar interests and morals, the couple lives a distinct but imbricated life as coworkers, partners, and parents alike.
“We have a lot to talk about when we get home from work. It’s definitely unique because we have shared students, not a lot of couples have a common work experience,” Carrie Anderson said.
Despite how they have influenced each other’s personal lives across their years spent at OHS, professionality has never been lost amongst the two, while their passion for teaching is apparent through it all.
“I don’t really work with her, per say, like people would say, I work with the kids. That’s what I also say is the good reason about being a teacher is you don’t really work with adults, you work with kids,” Nolan Anderson said.
A foundation of admiration and friendship solidified the correspondence between love and work, evolving just as their careers have alongside each other.
“I looked up to her in a lot of ways because she had already been teaching for a couple years in Seattle, and I had only been teaching for that semester, so I looked up to her in that sense. She also looked up to me because I knew a lot more people than she did,” Nolan Anderson said.
While OHS has been a consistent factor between the two, their lives have evolved and grown beyond more than just their jobs, but also their own family.
“Having kids now, it’s easy to separate [work and our personal lives] because usually when we get home, we’re just focused on our kids, and just trying to make it through the year until summer,” Carrie Anderson said.
Passionate for their careers, stability, and one another, their priorities have expanded and evolved over the years. Whether students know one Anderson or the other, the two have undoubtedly impacted both the OHS campus and one another’s lives for the better.
“We always have so much fun together. We just have so much love for each other, from very early on, when people talk about natural chemistry, I think that always existed between us, and he’s just my person,” Carrie Anderson said.
