Meet Ms. Bigham from the GHS Career Center

In celebration of Black History Month, the Garfield PTSA reached out to Garfield’s awesome Black and African American teachers and staff with a few questions – e.g. favorite part of your job, what do you like to do for fun, and reflections on Black History Month.

How long have you been at Garfield? In what role(s)?

I’ve been at Garfield since 2016! I first started here as a College Prep Advisor working for the College Success Foundation and now I oversee the GHS Career Center!

Favorite part of your job?

You know that part of the day when you need your second cup of coffee and the emails start rushing in…Well, my favorite part of the job is when the group of students slide through to pop their heads in during passing period like, “HEEEEEEY Ms. Tiffany! You got any snacks?!” It’s the conversation right after for me. Garfield has some really amazing, talented and hilarious young people and it’s dope how I get to connect with them every day.

What do you like to do for fun?

Believe it or not, I’m a pretty decent cook! I’m basically re-creating IG’s best dishes in my kitchen and some meals turn out better than others, but it’s great. I don’t try to take it too seriously and it’s a fun way to spend time with my fam and my friends.

You probably wouldn’t guess this but I love to hike! I go on solo hikes at least once a month and take my people every once in a while when they’re feeling brave. My favorite spots are Lower Lewis Falls and La Push.

Lastly…and this is extremely new, but I’m getting back into athletics! About a million years ago I was a Division I Track & Field athlete, and recently I started training for the USATF Masters to throw discus. Track was a big part of my life for a long time so I volunteer coach when I can to stay close to the sport, and travel to compete with other adult athletes (post-COVID of course).

Any reflections you would like to share about Black History Month?

As you can probably tell from my range of interests that being black is not a monolith! You know, when I moved here from Texas in the 90’s there was not a lot of representation of black culture so we had to create it! Living in the PNW, black people may feel isolated from our very rich roots in the south and on the east coast, but I want to encourage all my Black students to understand that WE ARE THE CULTURE, no matter our geographic location! Embrace every part of your Blackness and don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone, find new passions and encourage others to do the same!

“While we might feel small, separate, and all alone, our people have never been more tightly tethered…”

-Amanda Gorman