Syverson officially becomes part of Bengal staff

Mel Syverson is a new humanities addition to Lewiston High School. Among others, Syverson has recently transferred to LHS after teaching at what is now Sacajawea Middle School. At the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, she began instructing students here in Language, Speech, Drama, and Stagecraft.
Before transferring to the new LHS building, she had taken a job offer as the Drama coach/advisor position back in 2016. At the beginning of the school year, she had transitioned into having a full-time job on the LHS campus.
Syverson attended Lewis Clark State College after graduating from Caldwell High School in 1992. She attended knowing that she had a desire to become an educator at an early age. Despite this, she had said that life had led her down a path that was not fit for her and had delayed her dreams of becoming an educator.
Syverson said that she had found the desire to educate on her first day of kindergarten.
“I thought my teacher was so smart and so kind; I wanted to be just like her.”
What had sparked her specific love for drama aside from educating was found during her acting career. Syverson had said that the best thing about theatre is the constant change. She loved the constant change and “sparks” the form of art allowed.
“But the best thing about theatre is that there are always new things happening, so the ‘sparks’ just keep coming!”
As she transitioned into working here at LHS, she had set goals for herself and her students. She had said that the aspects of drama she teaches could translate into numerous career options and experiences for her students. Syverson hopes that as the program expands over the years, that more students will join the program and it’s fun. She finds that being apart of the LHS staff family full time is awesome and expressed how much she loves it.
Her love for drama only evolves during her time off. She sometimes continues to act and sing around the community. She had expressed that it was not nearly as enjoyable as teaching students and young people to love all of these things. She finds great joy and interest in classic literature and is full of love for her community.
Syverson has been married to her spouse for 28 years. She has two children, a son and a daughter, who are now in their 20s. The one thing she loves most of all is her family, and she enjoys spending time with them.