Kim Robertson - Class of 1977

Imagine going to school in a barn. Now imagine spending a dark Pacific Northwest winter day learning in that barn without power or heat. This is the picture Alumni Kim Robertson (’77) paints as he begins his walk down memory lane. 

Yes, Overlake began as a school in a barn and has grown to our sprawling 73-acre property of today. With a graduating class of only 18 seniors, Kim notes that while his campus and graduation day looked a lot different than the Overlake of today, the essentials of a liberal arts education rooted in inquiry and critical thinking – and even experiential learning – are still vibrant in our school programming in 2024.  

“I learned how to work with other people, to problem solve, and to communicate,” says Kim, a successful importer who has spent 25 years in the industry, mostly at Issaquah-based Greater Pacific. To this day, Kim notes that Overlake taught him the importance of non-verbal communication which he credits with a 4-day outdoor education trip where Kim and his classmates were told not to communicate verbally. “Obviously we all broke that rule,” says Kim with a laugh and a smile, quickly pivoting to note, “I gained a lot of confidence as a communicator and to this day, I used that invaluable set of skills in the workplace. I even encourage younger colleagues who are used to communicating online to meet with me in person.”  

Other highlights from our bird walk down memory lane include Kim’s vivid memory of gathering at the flagpole for daily announcements where Head of School Dean Palmer would stand on a box while speaking, “epic” games of intense four-square on a deck that used to be near the present-day TLC, a smoking shack for both students and faculty, and a media room where students and faculty would hang out and listen to music.  

 Since his days as an Overlake student, Kim Robertson has served on the Overlake Board of Trustees, the Alumni Board, and has volunteered on numerous committees. Thank you, Kim, for remaining engaged as a leader in our community for nearly 50 years. We may have left the barn days behind, but the school’s values still resonate with those early years. Some things, it turns out, never change.