Kara Poulsen, drama teacher at Diamond Fork Junior High School, was honored by Sorenson Legacy Awards for Excellence in Arts Education, as Secondary Drama Teacher of the Year for 2020.
Poulsen taught at Diamond Fork Junior from day one–literally. She started the drama department in 1996.
This drama program is one of the best junior high departments in the state.
“Becoming a teacher was something I always wanted to do. Being a teacher has been more than I ever expected,” Poulsen said.
“My students over the past 32 years have taught ME more than I ever taught them. Watching them struggle, work, and then achieve and succeed is pure joy. They are still my favorite people, from 1988 to 2020! Their stories feel like my story and I couldn’t have written a better one.”
Some of the productions she produced most recently include:
Joseph and the Amazing Technocolor Dreamcoat 2008;
Fiddler on the Roof 2011;
Beauty and the Beast 2012;
The Little Mermaid 2013;
Aladdin 2015;
Lion King 2016;
Thoroughly Modern Millie 2017;
Mulan 2018;
Shrek 2019;
Poulsen’s drama students continuously place at the top in the state’s Shakespeare competitions.
“Kara Poulsen is simply the best of the best. She is more than drama. She is art, dance, acting, lighting, costuming, music, set design, screenwriter, playwright, coach of adolescent novice budding thespians, therapist — she is a magician,” said Principal Brenda Burr.
“Her students adore her because they feel part of the magic. Her classes are bursting. Drama programs live and die by the drama teacher. She chooses junior high. High schools and theater companies have come calling, but Kara has found her calling — working with the awkward junior high age.” (Serve Daily submission.)
