Mežotne is truly a meaningful place to me. I spent my childhood there and my grandfather was the lead builder of the West Coast Latvian Education Center itself. He inspired me to do more in the Latvian community and to follow in his and my grandmother’s footsteps to teach the next generation what it means to be Latvian.
Marisa Graudiņa (Hougardy)
Director |marisa.graudins@rklic.org
My name is Marisa Graudins. I graduated from the Seattle Latvian School, Kursa Summer School, and University of Washington (bachelor’s degree in Scandinavian Studies and Anthropology, Master’s degree in Education). I am proud to be working at Mežotne and excited to see kids enjoy Latvian camp as much as I did. I hope to instill these feelings, along with a love of pīrāgi, in my own son, Grants.