Bryce Biggerstaff
The Communicator

It has been said that a student is only as good as the one who taught them. For Kenny Krestian it seems to be a mantra to live by.

Krestian is the kind of teacher that feels deeply passionate about his craft. He is very active in the classes and he brings energy and excitement to what he teaches. His teaching philosophy is one that really keeps the responsibility in the hands of the students.

“I love to present the information to the students and let them run with it. In the end it is completely up to them as to what they get out of it,” Krestian said.

Krestian has been a teacher for nearly eight years and in that time he has taught science classes at Lewis and Clark High School where he was also a soccer coach, and then moved on to the SFCC where he teaches students the importance of First Aid and the need to be healthy in a society where fast food is the meal of choice. Krestian has maintained the notion that students lead very busy lives and he approaches his classes with this in mind.

“I understand that student’s lives don’t revolve around my class, they have lives outside of school and I really try and relate the subjects so that students can use the information to help them in some way,” Krestian said.

Krestian is very familiar with what it means to be busy. On top of being a full time teacher, he is also the soccer coach here at the SFCC. He also used to play for the Spokane Shadow, a local semi pro soccer league.

Most importantly he is a family man.

“I think that I am young enough and involved enough to know where students are at and I still remember what it is like to be a student so that helps me to relate,” Krestian said.

Krestian was born in Spokane but grew up in a military family, traveling to places like Florida and Alaska. He eventually ended up back here where he graduated from Ferris High School. Kenny then became a student here at the falls where he completed his Associates degree and transferred to Whitworth University. It was at the SFCC though that Krestian found his calling in life.

“I took an Intro to teaching class my last quarter here and I really enjoyed it, plus getting the summers off was definitely a bonus,” Krestian said.

Krestian has been around education long enough to see the many changes that have occurred in the field. He has seen high school education go to a standardized testing mentality where teachers and students have very little to say in what they teach and learn. He has also experienced first hand the benefit that comes from a Community College education.

“At a community college you get to experience many different areas of study and choose the path you want to walk down,” Krestian said.

With that in mind Krestian is a firm believer that students get a first class education with highly qualified teaching staff at the SFCC. He has only been here three years and from the sounds of it, has no intention of leaving anytime soon.