Spokane Valley: After a rough start in school Sammy Nielsen aims for a future in audio/video

Sammy Nielsen used to make a game of going to school and speaking as few words as possible, sometimes managing to keep it down in the single digits. Now, as he prepares to graduate from Spokane Valley High School, he chats easily about his passion projects and enjoys engaging his peers in conversation.

Nielsen grew up in the East Valley School District, but found himself unchallenged. He said he found the material easy and was often bored, which led to misbehavior.

“By the time I got to middle school, there were a lot of problems,” he said.

In his last semester of eighth grade, he began attending City School.

“I didn’t talk to anyone,” he said. “I just wanted to get through the year.”

He’d recently been diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic and with complex-PTSD. He describes being bullied when he was younger, but admits that he also made life hard for other students when he would get angry and lash out. He also had the wrong kind of friends, Nielsen said.

Nielsen said he had a breakthrough moment where he realized he didn’t like himself as a person.

The fall of his freshman year, Nielsen enrolled in Spokane Valley High School. On a whim, when he arrived at the new school, he introduced himself by his middle name, Sammy.

“When I moved schools, I tried to change everything,” he said.

Slowly. he came out of his shell, talking more and being involved more. Once careless about his grades, he began working harder.

Teacher Michelle Marsura remembers the transformation. She said he started out being happy with C’s even though he knew he could earn an A in his classes with a little effort.

“He didn’t really care about school,” she said. “Something switched his junior year. Now he’s very much one of the leaders of the school, formally and informally. He deserves it.”

Marsura said Nielsen is exceptionally responsible and kind. She was impressed by his project to restore a sound booth for students to use for podcasts and other sound work.

He doesn’t mind making mistakes or getting things wrong, he just rolls with it and tries again, Marsura said.

“He’s bright, he’s diligent, he asks good questions,” she said.

Nielsen has long been interested in creating videos and doing audio work. He found a sound booth at the school and went to the principal to propose getting it up and running. His project was approved and it now sits in a room with a custom desk inside, ready for use.

“My love for this is very nerdy and very niche,” he said. “Students love creating podcasts in here.”

He has enjoyed his time at Spokane Valley High School, Nielsen said.

“I love our school so very much,” he said. “I love that we provide for anyone that comes to our door. I’m proud of the work that I’ve done and as far as I can tell, I’ve done pretty good.”

Nielsen plans to continue to learn about video production and audio engineering and work as a video editor.

“It’s a whole new chapter,” he said of his future. “It’s a whole new book.”