![Minutes before the Activities Fair in the gym, president Abhi Gowda ‘26 prepares the stall for his club Helping Hands, Sept. 4. A relatively new club, Helping Hands was co-started by Gowda and focuses on assisting the homeless, and just last year they succeeded in raising a couple hundred donations to send to shelters. This year, they have goals to expand, with hopes to increase volunteer opportunities and take in-person trips to shelters, as well as extend their help beyond just homeless people. “The Activities Fair gives a lot of underclassmen the opportunity to really get to know the Canyon culture, and it gives them many opportunities for service and volunteering,” Gowda said. “[Through the Activities Fair,] I hope to find a bunch of new and passionate members about our club and just get our name out there and spread awareness to the cause that we’re fighting for.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/1-2-1200x885.jpg)
![The winter guard team makes fifth place at the state championship finals in the Denver Coliseum, March 30. The team performed to Barnes Country's “Glitter and Gold,” lead by coaches Margo Sanford, Blair Bickerton and Anna Orgren. In their class there were a total of nine groups participating, and the top five who made it to finals received a plaque. “[Walking onto the stage] is very nerve-wracking, but also very exciting as well. When you first start color guard there's a lot of anxiety and uncertainty when you first perform in front of an audience, but once you've done it for a while, it starts to become the best part of the season,” Ella West ‘25 said. “It's very fulfilling to see an audience react to something you've put your heart and soul into.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Both-socal-media-nd-website-main-1-1200x846.jpg)
![April marks the 25th anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, created by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). This month is to spread awareness of the harassment, assault and abuse that happens around the world. The symbol that represented the month was a teal ribbon; however, some survivors of assault create different symbols and movements like the TikTok trend in 2022, where survivors would tattoo Medusa on their body, in honor of her backstory in Greek Mythology. “I don't think [this month is known] at all. I rarely see anybody talk about it. I rarely see much of an emphasis on posting it online, or much discussion about it, and I feel like there needs to be way more discussion,” an anonymous source said. “I think just validating every experience that a person has gone through, regardless of the degree of it, the severity, is an essential step into making sure that people are aware that this is a very real problem in a society and that we need to do better in addressing it.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_0011-1200x900.jpg)
![Lesbian Visibility Day is April 26, and it’s a holiday to celebrate the lesbian community of the world. Lesbian Visibility day was established in 2008 by many queer activists and organizations who sought to raise more awareness for lesbian history and culture. “So this is why during Lesbian Visibility [Day] we celebrate and center all lesbians, both cis and trans, while also showing solidarity with all LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary people,” Linda Reily, in an article written by her, said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Lesbian-Visibility-day.jpeg)
![English teacher Colleen Lamb grades College Prep English assignments during period two Nov. 10. Lamb, who has been teaching for 27 years, decorates her classroom with posters and handmade college flags from her senior students. "Everything I enjoy about English happens primarily in the classroom," Lamb said. "So, thankfully, the college [I worked at] had a teaching program, and I was able to do my post-grad work for free while I was working [there].”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_1158-1200x900.jpeg)
The bell rings, signaling passing period.
The journey to the back of the 3000s gets more interesting, however, when “Confidence” by Demi Lovato floods from room 3400. As students arrive in the classroom, they are met with their teacher cheering for them to strut into the classroom. AP Literature and Composition, College Prep and Literature of Film teacher Colleen Lamb urges her students to start their day with courage, just as the song implies.
Lamb has worked as an English teacher for 27 years, first starting at Douglas County in 1997.
She challenges her students to top their work and bring a new understanding of the world to class, but despite her love for teaching, it wasn’t always her plan.
“When I graduated from college, I was determined not to be a teacher,” Lamb said. “I got an English degree and my advisor asked before I graduated if I wanted to to the teaching program, and I said, ‘There’s no way I would ever go back to a classroom.’”
However, her plans soon changed.
“I wanted to work in publishing,” Lamb said. “I went to school in the Midwest and there are a lot of publishers out there, so that was my plan. I didn’t get a job in publishing right away, but I did get a job at a college. Working with the college made me realize everything I enjoy about English happens primarily in the classroom. So, thankfully, the college had a teaching program, and I was able to do my post-grad work for free while I was working [there].”
With any job, Lamb’s relationship with teaching isn’t black-and-white. She admits to liking certain aspects of education more than others.
“What I really love is putting together [and] planning lessons,” Lamb said. “I like figuring out the organization, like the layout, slide decks and all of that visual part. I love teaching. I hate the grading.”
When she’s not watching horror and mystery movies, Lamb loves refurbishing, building and working with her hands.
“I love gardening,” Lamb said. “I like doing house projects. Over fall break, I refinished my deck and I have built a perennial garden in the front yard, so I like doing stuff like that.”
Just like talking about movies, reading books is one of Lamb’s favorite subjects. When asked for recommendations, she is readily prepared with a list of her current and overall reading picks.
“Last year, I started listing out books I was reading [outside my classroom],” Lamb said. “‘Who is Maud Dixon’ by Alexandra Andrews was a really good one, that got 12 out of 10 points. ‘This Tender Land’ by William Kent Kruger was [also] good.”
One of her favorite books offers more than just a fun read for her. “Matchmaking for Beginners” by Maddie Dawson had a quote that inspired one of her tattoos.
“The last line is, ‘Whatever happens, love that,” and that’s my tattoo,” Lamb said.