Most of the names of YHS staff are immediately recognizable. We see the friendly faces of our teachers every day, and spend a lot of our time talking about them! However, so many members of YHS staff are working behind the scenes, and the non-teaching members of our school staff play a pivotal role in how everything falls into place.

For this edition's teacher's spotlight, I decided to speak to Mr. Lampe. Mr Lampe is one of my personal favourite members of the YHS staff, and one of the very first members that I ever met! In 2019, he conducted my admissions interview when I first joined the YHS community, and we've maintained our connection ever since. Although I rarely see him, I make sure to stop by the admissions offices when I get the chance to say hello. I asked Mr. Lampe to provide some insight into his position in the admissions department and a sneak peek into his life! Read on to meet a member of YHS staff you might have never even spoken to before.

Mr. Lampe has been an Admissions Associate at YHS since 2017. This role was created to help people learn about our school, coordinate Student Ambassadors, and support the application process. They are swamped with tours and Open House events in the fall, then assessments and interviews in winter and spring. Mr. Lampe loves working with the student ambassadors because they always bring energizing enthusiasm. He also enjoys working alongside Ms. Lim and Ms. Sandonís because they pay meticulous attention to how we can help design a diverse and inclusive community. Before working at York House, Mr. Lampe was a recruiter for UBC international students in the USA, Latin America and East Africa. He liked meeting interesting and talented students at independent schools in those countries so much, it made him want to become part of one of those communities like York House. Mr. Lampe studied abroad himself in Brazil, Spain, and even taught English in Japan!

In his free time, Mr. Lampe is usually looking for outdoor activities with friends. Last summer he did his first kayak camping trip in which he explored the Gulf Islands National Park around Saturna Island and Pender Island over the span of 5 days, camping in some spots that are only accessible by boat.

A highlight of his trip was getting to see 3 orca whales, right near him and his friends! This is all a testament to Mr. Lampe's adoration for wildlife - he even gets excited about seeing raccoons. Additionally, he volunteers in box office or concessions once a week at The Cinematheque movie theatre downtown where they show lots of below-the-radar, independent and foreign films.

A staple of Vancouver, the theatre has been open since 1972. What a well rounded list of activities!

Finally, Mr. Lampe's wife is the owner and operator of The Soap Dispensary & Kitchen Staples, which is a refill store dedicated to reducing plastic packaging. The shop specialises in bulk soaps, cleaners, hygiene and beauty products, DIY ingredients, and kitchen/food items that are difficult to buy in bulk. She's been running The Soap Dispensary for the past 10 years on Main Street and has inspired many more refill businesses that have popped up around BC, USA and internationally. Mr. Lampe is passionate about avoiding unnecessary packaging, reusing perfectly good containers, and learning about how detrimental it is to think that recycling is going to save us.

Mr. Lampe is all around a really fun person with an incredible repertoire of activities and life experiences under his belt. In case you don't already believe he's one of the coolest people in the building, he was in a goth-electronica band with Mr. Lee, Mr. Reimer, Ms. Louis in the early 80s!