Alyna Rose defies expectations. She loves horror movies, but can’t stand a particular classic of the genre. She’s an only child who’s lived in a single house most of her life, yet she’s ready and able to chart her own course through college.

In this conversation, Alyna and I discussed her passion for teaching, reflected on her academic influences, and explored our common ground on topics like self-organization and overrated movies.

Despite running the gamut in our interview, Alyna left a clear, straightforward impression. The obvious conclusion? She has a bright future ahead as an educator, and her students are going to have one very cool teacher.

Samuel McLaughlin: Tell me about yourself.

Alyna Rose: I just graduated from North Central High School. I go to Whitworth University now. I am Christian. Faith is very important to me. I played volleyball for about 10 years. I love rock and roll.

Great. Are there any other hobbies you have?

Yes, I do scrapbooking and journaling. I love writing things down and I go to concerts, so I’ll tape in my concert wristbands (I go to general admission a lot). I also hang out with friends and [go] to scary movies with my parents.

Heck yeah. That all sounds awesome. What kind of music are you listening to?

I listen to rock and metal, which is not super normal for my age. However, I thoroughly enjoy it, and I got my friends hooked on it, too. I listen to Metallica, The Offspring, and Disturbed. I love Avenged Sevenfold. They’re my favorite band. And then there’s smaller artists from [local] concerts.

Cool! Did you grow up here in Spokane?

I did, basically in the same house my whole life. But now I live on campus. It’s nice because I’m still close to home and I have a great relationship with my parents, [all while] getting some independence.

That’s a great balance: being able to pop home at any time and say, “Hi.” How has your transition to college been?

It’s been smooth sailing luckily. I’m an only child, and I feel a lot of only children struggle with being dependent. But my parents raised me [well], so it doesn’t feel like a massive change.

I live with my best friend, which has been a little bit challenging. In some respects, we’ll be totally fine, but there’s been a few things. That was towards the beginning [though]. We’ve been really good these past few months.

Being independent and finding a balance [has been] the important part. My family is right there, and I want to go home and see them, [but] I have to do homework and balance new and old friendships—it’s been a little bit difficult.

But it’s February now, so I’ve gotten the hang of things.

Whitworth, if I remember right, has fall and spring term. So, you’re on your second term?

Yes, I am… but we do have a thing called ‘Jan Term.’ It’s three weeks in January where you typically take a three-hour class every day, Monday through Friday.

I took a three-credit class and a one-credit class this Jan Term. So, this is technically my second term and I knocked out four credits in between.

You’ve hit the ground running, then: already (technically) on your third term, navigating roommate adjustments, and transitioning smoothly.

Now I want to know: what are you studying?

Elementary education. I’m planning to get an endorsement in reading and early childhood.

I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was three or four years old. I’ve spent so much time building up to this because I knew it’s what I wanted to do: babysitting, volunteering in church groups for kids, working with summer camps, things like that.

So, I [went] to college. [Whitworth] is a four-year, private university. It was a bit hard financially. I did get a lot of scholarships [though], including you guys (the LaunchNW Promise Scholarship).

Since it is a four-year, we’re jumping straight into it. Last year was my first semester and I already had a teaching block!

What made you choose teaching as a career?

I have a really good memory. I [even] remember things from when I was 3, like my first day of preschool: I absolutely loved it, my teachers especially. I looked up to them.

As time went on, I would think, “I want to be a kindergarten teacher, a first grade teacher, a second grade teacher,” as I [went] through each grade. But as soon as I hit fourth grade I realized, “I don’t want to be a teacher at this grade level.”

I really respect your passion for teaching and that it’s been a stable motivation for you from such a young age. A lot of people don’t have that –and there’s nothing wrong with that– but the fact that you do makes me excited to see what you do with it.

Thank you.

Maybe we get a little philosophical here. Why do you think teachers are important?

They really are the core building blocks of people’s lives. To a lot of people, that sounds terrifying. For me, weirdly enough, it does not. I’m here today because of the teachers I’ve had, you’re here today because of the teachers you’ve had, and so is everyone around us. It’s a common shared experience. That time [with teachers] built us into who we are today.

When you’re considering the kind of teacher you want to be, who’s your ideal? Maybe a Ms. Frizzle or a Bill Nye?

I model it more off my real teachers and how they did things. This is kind of random, but the handwriting of my teachers influenced me. I love taking physical notes, making them pretty– a lot of my favorite teachers had very good handwriting, and I think that made me pay more attention in the class.

I want to be a teacher who’s got it organized, who feels comfortable. Looking at little things like the organization of books, or the handwriting– it’s all something I want to do because kids pay attention [to that].

No, definitely. You pay attention to these different constituent details of a classroom because even if they seem purely aesthetic, they create this attitude for kids when they walk into a classroom.

Maybe they subconsciously feel valued because the teacher creates a better learning environment for them. Even if it seems random, I think your attention to detail has some intentionality behind it.

Yeah, it absolutely does. I have struggled with OCD for a long time, [but] I learned how to let things go. You know how kids are going to be. There’s going to be random boogers and all of that.

But I also want [some] control of, like, making sure the posters are coherent, and here’s where the pencils are, and even if all the kids take them, they know that’s the spot for them.

Not everything has to be perfect. That’s not realistic. But paying attention to detail is important to me.

You’re right. Organization is so important. Not just in the classroom, but in life, too. Those little inefficiencies add up.

And you know, I’ve learned to let stuff go as I’ve gotten older. I wasn’t diagnosed till I was 15. Sorry, I know this is a whole different–

No, no, that’s all good. Do it.

But you know, I was a hoarder as a kid. I held on to every little thing… which I think is normal to a certain extent, like, “Oh, this piece of wrapper reminds me of this.” Every kid has those moments. But [mine were] really bad.

And then [suddenly], a switch flipped. Now, I’m on the opposite end. I still have almost every birthday card since I’ve basically been alive, but I have a drawer for them. And the concert wristbands– they can be taped into my journal. I still have those little things and moments, just condensed into something that’s actually valuable.

That’s interesting. I’ve never seen it that way before. Your scrapbooking is a reconciliation of those two elements of yourself. That’s cool.

Absolutely. Yeah.

Whitworth is a great school. I’m glad we were able to help you in that way. I wonder, too, if we can talk about Whitworth more. What do you love about the Whitworth community, the classes?

My favorite thing is that it’s a Christian school. I’m very deep in my faith; I have been my whole life. And you don’t have to be Christian to go here. I love it.

Like I said, God really pushed me to go here, and being able to openly talk to my professors about things like that has been cool. Not everybody here is Christian, but [it’s] definitely the majority. So, being able to meet a random friend and talk openly about [faith] is nice.

I [also] love that it is small, only about 2,000 kids. My classes are high school sized, which feels [less] weird because that’s what I’ve known. I have some friends down at WSU who have massive classes. That’s scary. There obviously might be benefits [that way], but I love small classes. They give you more opportunities to make friendships.

Alright, we’re coming up on the last few here. This is a fun one I like to do. What’s your hot take?

Hmm. Okay, this is very specific to horror movies, super random: I do not like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre at all.

It’s a core classic like Scream, Friday the 13^th, and Nightmare on Elm Street, that category. I love almost every horror movie, [but] I hate it.

Let’s get into that. Tell us more.

I’ve only ever seen the first movie, that could be my issue. But it made me so uninterested. Almost every single person I tell that to who’s a horror movie fan says, “What? You’re crazy.” And I’m like, “No, I’m not. Have you actually watched it?”

My parents also think I’m crazy for it, but I just don’t enjoy it at all.

That is a hot take, for sure. I’m also a big horror movie buff. Alien is my favorite of all time. That’s my standard: is it anywhere near as good as Alien? And I think you’re onto something.

When I think of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it’s not near Alien for me. So maybe I could agree with you.

And like, here’s the thing. The original Scream is basic, but it’s so good. You know what happens watching it back, but I [still] love it. I’ve seen the whole Halloween trilogy and the Rob Zombie ones. But I just never want to rewatch Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

So, it’s a hot take and could upset some people.

No, I think you’re within your rights there. We have so many good horror movies coming out today that the standard is high.

I love that hot take. We’re gonna put that as the tagline: you saying, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre sucks. Come at me.” Is that okay?

Yes, absolutely. Go for it.

Cool. Last question here: is there anything you’d want to say to the people who have made the LaunchNW Promise Scholarship possible?

Thank you so much. I know that’s basic, but I truly want to say thank you for impacting me way more than I could have ever imagined.

All right, I think that’s everything– oh, wait! I just remembered the memory check. You didn’t write it down right? No cheating.

No!

Let’s hear it.

Blue six.

That’s amazing. Maybe that’s why you dislike Texas Chainsaw Massacre, because you actually remember the movie. But other fans don’t and just think it’s good and retro.

Yeah, hey, that is so true! Thank you so much. I’m gonna start using that one.

Well, wonderful. It was great talking to you, Alyna.

Samuel McLaughlin is a Marketing and Communications Program Associate at LaunchNW.