Rachael Colman

I was born in Yokohama, Japan but moved to the United States when I was 2 years old. My parents were so focused on their 7 children learning English that most of us no longer speak our native tongue, but through study, I’m working to regain that skill. My husband’s work brought us to Alaska in 2002. After 4 years, we moved to several other states including Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Nebraska, only to return to Alaska in 2021. We have 5 children, the last of whom is a proud Lumen Christi student.

I received my Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, after which I went to work for the Boeing Company in Everett, WA. In 2010 I received my Masters in Secondary Education with Math as a content area from Hawaii Pacific University. I have taught at 2 other private Catholic schools in Hawaii and Oregon, then switched to online teaching when our last child was born. I taught math at Brigham Young University – Idaho for 7 years before switching to teaching math and physics for Williamsburg Learning Academy, an online private high school, for the past 5 years. Because of my daughter’s phenomenal experience at Lumen Christi, I sought a teaching position and I am beyond thrilled to be part of this amazing school.

Outside of work, my family can often be found out in the wilderness hiking, backpacking, camping, or just getting lost. I build a snow fort in my backyard every winter and sleep in it at least once – aiming for the coldest night of the year. I am currently working on a second Masters degree in Microbiology from the University of Florida with hopes of someday being able to do humanitarian work in laboratory diagnostics and clean water access.

I am a firm believer that a foundational understanding of numbers, proportions, statistics, and the relationship of variables allows all of us to make better decisions, have a better understanding of how things work in the world, and be more informed participants in civil society. I believe all students are capable, with the proper support and resources, of understanding the fundamentals of math and science. All learning is valuable whether it is through struggle or achievement and a student’s journey cannot possibly be summarized into a single letter grade.