Ben Lippen Stories

Mrs. Patty Swift

Teaches: Lower School Library

Mrs. Swift has been married to her husband, Rick, for 34 years. He is the Dean of Students at CIU. She has three children, all of whom were part of the 13 Year Gang at Ben Lippen. Her oldest child, Amy (BL Class of 2011), lives in Columbia and works for The Cason Group. Katy (BL Class of 2012) is married and living in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. The youngest, Nathan (BL Class of 2015) works for an architecture firm in Portland, Oregon.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time? During the spring and summer, I love to spend time in our vegetable and flower gardens. During the fall and winter, I love to bake, try new recipes and do jigsaw puzzles. And, of course, I love to read all year round.

What do you love most about being the lower school librarian? The thing I love most about being the lower school librarian is finding great books for our students. I enjoy sharing the new books I’ve read, and then talking about them as the students read them. There are a few children who make it more challenging to find a good book for them, but I often say, “If your child says they don’t like to read, they just haven’t found the right book yet.”

What is your most memorable moment at Ben Lippen so far? My most memorable moment at Ben Lippen happened as I finished reading Horton Hears a Who! to the 1st grade class. I asked the class if they knew anyone like Horton?  One little boy said, “Yes, Horton is just like Jesus!” and then he went on to preach it to his class.

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