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Holman enjoying time in Quincy
Kurtis J. Wood/Post-Register
Chanel Holman is aiming to finish her sociology degree at the University of Washington and teach autistic children.
Chanel Holman isn’t currently doing what she wants to do for a living, but she used to. And she will again in the future.
Despite the fact that she’s a young woman who has had the opportunity to do a lot of things, she’s known for several years what her life calling is.
Because of that, she feels lucky.
“I know I want to teach autistic kids,” Holman said. “I know I’m going back to do that. A lot of people my age don’t really know what they’re going to do with their lives, and it can be tough for them, so I’ve always considered myself fortunate that I’ve known for a while what I want to do.”
Holman, who moved to Quincy in May 2008 and took a bartending job at C7 Bar & Grill, was raised in the Seattle area and attended the University of Washington. One day she read an advertisement for an in-home behavioral therapist for a girl with autism. Holman had previous experience with kids, but didn’t really know much at all about autism, but applied for and got the job.
That gig led to another, and soon Holman had four different home-therapy clients in the Seattle area. A year and a half after landing her first job, Holman was offered a teaching job at Families of Effective Autism Treatment, a private school in Bellevue. She taught there for a year and a half before moving to Quincy.
“I got a lot of hands-on, free training from some of the nation’s experts,” Holman said.
While she enjoyed the overall scope of her responsibilities, nobody told Holman that working with autistic children on a daily basis would be easy.
“There was a massive amount of challenges,” she said. “I’ve always liked math, and there was a lot of math involved with things like data collection and analysis, so that was cool. But I was not prepared for the emotional part of it and how intense the relationships can become with the families. With some of the kids, you can do interventions and be as intense as you can, but you top out after a while. You’re so invested in it. That’s hard.”
But, as in most endeavors, persistence paid off. Holman taught one child to speak. Her first child was nonverbal, but Holman got her to speak with the use of a computer.
The work provides as many rewards as challenges, however.
“I go back and visit the families I worked with all the time,” she said. “It’s kind of a lifetime bond, so that’s cool. It’s so emotional. That’s why I did it so long. I would drive up to 300 miles a day between school and my clients. I loved it so much. I just told myself, ‘I don’t need to buy the boots I want.’”
Holman eventually wants to return to UW to finish her sociology degree and return to her job at FEAT. For now, she enjoys her job as the friendly, do-everything bartender at C7’s new bar and grill at Colockum Ridge Golf Course.
“The course is in amazing shape, so business has picked up this year,” she said. “At the same time, it’s a lot slower paced than a Saturday night in town, which is what I was used to.
“This gives me a chance to know everyone who comes in and be a part of their lives. It’s like a small community within a small community.”
Holman is no stranger to the restaurant business. “I grew up around restaurants,” she said. “My mom was a bartender for many years, so I remember going with my dad to visit her and eat dinner. My first job was at a Greek restaurant in Mill Creek. Doing something like this fits my personality. I had a desk job once and I hated it.”
The Quincy Port District has expressed an interest in renewing its lease with C7 Bar & Grill to provide restaurant and beverage services at the golf course, and Holman said she plans on returning to the links next spring for another year.
Beyond that, she’s not sure how long she’s going to stay in the Quincy area, but her time here has given the west-sider another perspective on life, a perspective she enjoys.
“I do miss parts of Seattle, and I visit often,” she said. “I enjoy seeing my family and friends there. But I do like Quincy. I like that there’s no traffic. Traffic here is a tractor, and you pass it. I’m used to more of a rat-race feeling, and it’s calmer here, a relaxed atmosphere. It’s nice going to work not having to dress to the nines because of the big-city environment. I like that.”
Holman doesn’t have any specific plans for the winter save a 10-day trip to Hawaii in December.
“I haven’t had any time to do anything this summer because I’ve worked weekends here,” she said. “So I said, ‘To heck with it. I’m going to see the sun for once and be a bum for a while.’ "
