Topper Kain

Topper (Christopher) Kain graduated from Silverwood in 1996  He was at Silverwood for first, then third through sixth grades.  During first grade, his father was suddenly deployed with the Navy/Marines to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Storm.  Silverwood provided an ideal nurturing, secure environment for him during that difficult year, for which he and his family are very grateful.  The Kains left Kitsap County the next year, and his experience at a different type of school cemented the value of Silverwood for him – he was thrilled to return to Silverwood for the rest of his elementary years.

After Silverwood, Topper attended Fairview Junior High followed by Olympic High School where he was involved in football, wrestling, track, Ski Club, Odyssey of the Mind, Junior Engineering and Technical Society, Honor Society, the student newspaper, and student government.  Topper took full advantage of Olympic’s AP curriculum in humanities, math and science, and gained admittance, with an academic scholarship, to Harvey Mudd College, the renowned math/science arm of the Claremont Colleges in California.  He played college football for the Claremont/Mudd team, studied abroad in Australia and traveled around the Southern Hemisphere, participated in student government and was student representative to the Harvey Mudd College Board of Trustees. He graduated from Mudd in 2007 with degree in Computer Science and International Politics and Government. He recently decided two degrees were not enough, so he’s started work towards a Masters in Computer Science at University of Washington. 

Topper is currently employed as a software engineer in testing at Microsoft, in the Bing maps division (http://www.bing.com/maps/).  He loves his job, and claims, “I have the best job in the world, I look at maps and, break stuff.”  Topper has always loved travel, maps, math and computer science, and he gets to work with those interests every day!

Topper is engaged to Jen Hodges, a mechanical engineering grad from Tulane University.  They met in 2005 when Jen was displaced by Hurricane Katrina and spent a semester at Harvey Mudd College.  Topper and Jen love to spend time with Jen’s Miniature Schnauzer, Tchaps, exercise, ski, run, try out new restaurants, and take advantage of the myriad things to do on Seattle’s eastside.

While at Silverwood, Topper was very involved in a championship Odyssey of the Mind team. He especially enjoyed his superb preparation in math, including practice in logic problems, a skill that helps him to this day at work and in school.  He took Young Authors to heart and still has several multi-chapter adventure books he wrote during that period.  Topper loves to learn and appreciated the endless enthusiasm of his supportive teachers.

When asked for his favorite memory of Silverwood, Topper thought of three. First, “When the 6^th grade class sang a tribute for my father right after he returned from Desert Storm.”  Second, “Pouring over maps and atlases, plotting imaginary battles with my best friend Tom, who I still see about once a week.”  (Interestingly, Topper now works with maps and Tom spent four years in the Marine Corps).  Third, “The one time they let us play tackle football.  I was finally able to demonstrate my athletic skills.”

Topper credits his Silverwood education with: “Teaching me to love learning.” He further explains, “Teaching, in the form of lecturing or highly directed activities, is only one manner of acquiring knowledge.   Silverwood understands this.  Silverwood not only provides alternative means of learning, it encourages them.  By doing so it teaches its students the educational material, it teaches its students how to learn on their own, and makes it fun to do so.  It gives them the tools to succeed in school and far beyond.

Topper is engaged to Jen Hodges, a mechanical engineering grad from Tulane University.  They met in 2005 when Jen was displaced by Hurricane Katrina and spent a semester at Harvey Mudd College.  Topper and Jen love to spend time with Jen’s Miniature Schnauzer, Tchaps, exercise, ski, run, try out new restaurants, and take advantage of the myriad things to do on Seattle’s eastside.

While at Silverwood, Topper was very involved in a championship Odyssey of the Mind team. He especially enjoyed his superb preparation in math, including practice in logic problems, a skill that helps him to this day at work and in school.  He took Young Authors to heart and still has several multi-chapter adventure books he wrote during that period.  Topper loves to learn and appreciated the endless enthusiasm of his supportive teachers.

When asked for his favorite memory of Silverwood, Topper thought of three. First, “When the 6^th grade class sang a tribute for my father right after he returned from Desert Storm.”  Second, “Pouring over maps and atlases, plotting imaginary battles with my best friend Tom, who I still see about once a week.”  (Interestingly, Topper now works with maps and Tom spent four years in the Marine Corps).  Third, “The one time they let us play tackle football.  I was finally able to demonstrate my athletic skills.”

Topper credits his Silverwood education with: “Teaching me to love learning.” He further explains, “Teaching, in the form of lecturing or highly directed activities, is only one manner of acquiring knowledge.   Silverwood understands this.  Silverwood not only provides alternative means of learning, it encourages them.  By doing so it teaches its students the educational material, it teaches its students how to learn on their own, and makes it fun to do so.  It gives them the tools to succeed in school and far beyond.”

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