Where Are They Now? Landon Garvik

The fifth graders let out a collective gasp when the surprise guest entered their classroom.

Landon Garvik admits her reaction was pretty much the same. She wasn't expecting the First Lady of the United States, either.

Garvik, a GW volleyball alumna, was a student teacher at D.C.'s Watkins Elementary in February 2016 when Michelle Obama crashed their healthy cooking class.

Watching Obama seamlessly assist in making hand-rolled tortillas to go along with fresh vegetables from the school garden, while enthusiastically fielding rapid-fire questions from the youngsters, provided an indelible memory for a graduate student just starting out in education.

"She was absolutely, completely focused on the kids," said Garvik, a double GW graduate who earned a Sociology degree in 2015 before adding her master's in Elementary Education a year later. "I think that was a moment for me when I was like 'Kids are so important, and the work that we are doing here is important.'"

Later this month, Garvik begins her fifth year teaching at C.W. Harris Elementary School in Southeast D.C. She's taken on the challenge of educating children in one of the city's most poverty-stricken communities, a mission that has only grown more difficult amid the COVID-19 global pandemic with virtual learning in effect. (Help Garvik's school collect supplies through this Donors Choose campaign.)

Hailing from the tiny mountain town of Carbondale, Colo., Garvik has found a second home in D.C. The former Buff and Blue middle hitter continues on because she's passionate about the work providing support to kids and families who need it, navigating the obstacles using lessons learned as a student-athlete in Foggy Bottom.

"I know that I can do hard things because of my time with GW volleyball," Garvik said. "That absolutely gave me the confidence to take a risk in my career and start teaching in a place some might consider to be too challenging, and it's been the best decision of my life."

For Garvik, the choice to attend GW was about moving outside of her comfort zone. The bustle of Foggy Bottom was so different from her upbringing.

"I really wanted something different for my college experience that would help me grow as a person," said Garvik, who represented the Buff and Blue from 2011-2014. "That's exactly what GW ended up doing for me. I was challenged and pushed in brand new ways."

On the court, Garvik learned the value of determination, pushing through the growing pains and learning moments on a steady climb up the Atlantic 10 standings. That perseverance paid off in her senior season with 22 wins and a spot in the conference final.

"That was just the best way to end my career in volleyball," said Garvik, who ranked fourth in blocks and sixth in kills as a senior. "Just knowing getting to that point was the product of four years of really hard work."

Off the court, Garvik found similar satisfaction, taking full advantage of life in the nation's capital. The night of the 2012 Presidential Election when Barack Obama was re-elected sticks out as an unforgettable #OnlyatGW memory.

"The whole campus just erupted," Garvik remembered. "You could hear kids in their dorm rooms exploding with excitement. And then there was a rush of everybody outside of their dorm to just walk down the street to the White House.

"It was so funny because all the GW kids were there. We had been standing outside the White House for maybe 45 minutes before the kids from Georgetown and American and Howard showed up. Because #OnlyatGW can you walk down the street and get there before all of the other D.C. schools."

Garvik's academic experience helped her discover a rewarding career path.

Through her Sociology classes, she learned a lot about the history of education inequality within the city. Pursuing her master's degree in Elementary Education allowed her the chance to work hands-on in that environment and begin to see where she could make an impact.

Her time at Watkins Elementary – including the visit from Michelle Obama and a subsequent invitation to the White House to check out the garden there – helped confirm her passion for the job.

"I ended up learning so much from being in an elementary classroom in an urban setting, just because my rural education in Colorado was so, so different," Garvik said. "I was actually kind of jealous that there was this diverse – culturally diverse, racially diverse, socioeconomically diverse – classroom where there was so much learning that was going on that was beyond the academics."

Since then, Garvik has been working full-time at C.W. Harris Elementary, a Title I school in which nearly the entire student body comes from low-income households.

It's hard work that regularly requires long hours beyond the school day, but she's found a strong family of coworkers who are similarly spirited.

"It's such a heavy responsibility and something that I don't take lightly," said Garvik, who is set to teach fourth-grade science and math this fall after four years as an English language arts instructor. "I don't think that there's a more important job than to ensure that everybody in America that's in grade school is getting access to a quality education."

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a whole new set of challenges as they tried to figure out how to get students access to internet-connected computers to view lessons, plus the school supplies needed to create a proper learning environment.

Garvik recently used GoFundMe to raise more than $2,000 to purchase storage bins for all 250 students at the school that could hold school supplies and also double as a table or chair if needed. Her partner teacher is currently fundraising for math kits to send into the children's homes.

"Teachers are used to being the nurse and the social worker and the mom sometimes," Garvik said. "We're used to playing a lot of different roles and wearing a lot of different hats, but the spring challenged us in ways that I had never even imagined."

Counting down to the first day of school on Aug. 31, Garvik is exactly where she wants to be.

She's found a fulfilling career in a city she loves while maintaining a strong connection to her alma mater. She has developed a connection with rising senior Callie through GW volleyball's mentoring program, and she makes the trip to Foggy Bottom whenever she can, often with her former GW swimmer roommates Brittany Liedholm, Morgan Zebley and Abigail Fusco.

After spending two months this summer in the peacefulness of her native Colorado, Garvik surprised her family with an announcement that it was time for her to head "home."

"I just don't think that there's any place else in the world that has as much culture, diversity and relevance to current events," Garvik said. "Whatever you want, you can find it in D.C. It's so beautiful and warm and welcoming. I'm always happy to come back here, and that's definitely why I consider it to be my home."

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