Osprey Voices
Each month, we interview an AHS community member to hear their thoughts about plans for our future home. This month, we visited with Sarah Lara, our Owner's Representative.
Sarah has been working in the construction industry for 20 years, and as an Owner’s Rep for the past 15. Her extensive experience in various market sectors allows Sarah to quickly assess project needs for her clients. Her strengths include managing multiple stakeholders, assessing value-driven decisions, document control and creating a team atmosphere with the various firms needed to complete a project. Sarah’s passion for Owner’s Representative work stems from her desire to help others through challenging projects and her ability to adjust communication styles to match the project teams’ needs. Sarah spends some of her free time on a “passion project” of building an inclusive playground for kids of all abilities with LuBird’s Light Foundation. She enjoys volunteering with her kids’ activities at their local dual-language school and watching her nieces and nephews play sports, as well as spending time outdoors with her family, her dog and her friends.
What attracted you to AHS? My first introduction to AHS was at the Owner’s Rep site walk and there was an obvious commitment to the school and program by Sean and Jeff (King), who were leading the site walk. My first steps into the school gave me a sense of the positive and inclusive energy that AHS has and I knew then that the AHS project would be so fun to work on. Further into the site walk, both Jeff and Sean discussed the collaboration they want to have as part of the project and it furthered my appreciation for AHS as I believe the best construction projects are done when collaboration is valued.
How do you see AHS positively impacting our community? I love the shift in pedagogy over the past few decades (which is evident to me when I work on renovations of schools that were designed decades ago with different teaching styles). Today, parents and students have a lot more power in choosing which learning styles work best for them. I feel AHS is providing a unique option for students. In addition to AHS providing an alternate choice for students, they also provide students with a great base for becoming life-long learners, with a focus on respect and inclusion. AHS’s focus on collaboration with local businesses is also a positive impact to the community, and again, leads by example for their staff and students to do the same.
What's most exciting to you about AHS building our permanent campus at Fort Lewis College? I’m really excited about the uniqueness of the project – the blending and collaboration required to create AHS’s new home. I’m excited to see a high school design unfold and take shape on a college campus. I’m also excited to work with the teams involved as it’s evident that everyone is excited to see this project succeed.
What are your hopes for our permanent home? I hope for a building that reflects the values of AHS. I hope it provides students a safe environment to become young adults who are confident in their abilities and who know their contributions are valued; and I hope it provides staff an environment that fosters creativity and positive energy.
Where do you envision AHS in 10 years? With student-led, PBL curriculum, I believe the AHS students will keep the program on the leading edge of learning. I believe that FLC and AHS will create new collaborations and that AHS will be looked to as a leader in Colorado project-based learning.
