Member Spotlight

Kelsey Klemm

BCOC Office Administrator, Occupational Therapy Assistant

Birthdate: February 22, 1988 in Denver, Colorado

Occupation: Kelsey currently works at BCOC as our office manager.

Her formal training is in Occupational Therapy as a COTA-L (Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant – Licensed).

Joined the BCOC Family: 2012

Favorite Color(s): Purple as been Kelsey’s favorite color since the creation of the Colorado Rockies baseball team, whose main color is purple. She was 5 years old at the time. #fangoals

Family Info: Kelsey is currently single and lives in Shoreline, WA.

Family of Origin: Kelsey is very close to her parents, who still live in Lakewood, CO (suburb of Denver) in the same house she grew up in! She is an only child.

Places You’ve Lived: Colorado: Denver, Lakewood, Ft. Collins; Arkansas @ Harding University; Washington: Renton, Bothell, Shoreline (current)

What did you want to be when you grew up? Kelsey initially wanted to be a vet because she loves animals; but then realized that animals don’t like the vet. Next, she wanted to be an astronaut, but soon discovered that space is terrifying. In 6th grade, she was introduced to the idea of Occupational Therapy via a unit on hippotherapy (horse therapy, not hippos…) and decided that OT was for her!

What were you like as a child? Shy! Very quiet in school, but very talkative at home; she was a rule follower and did not like to make trouble; more of a girly-girl than a tomboy; liked to play dress up and had a vivid imagination during pretend play. Kelsey still collects stuffed animals!

Favorite/Least Favorite School Subjects: Loved English and History; Not a fan of Math…

Did you Attend College? Kelsey graduated from Harding University in 2012; received her Occupational Therapy training from PIMA Medical Institute.

Why did you move to WA? After being on her own at college, Kelsesy did not want to move back home again during her Occupational Therapy training, so she decided to move away from CO. Several friends had moved to WA and liked it (including Melissa Lydon who had also graduated from Harding). Kelsey was accepted at PIMA Medical Institute in Renton and completed her Occupational Therapy training there.

What Hobbies do you have? Watching Youtube and Netflix (especially True Crime), reading (Historical Fiction is a favorite), being outside (hiking, etc.)

Extrovert or Introvert? Kelsey describes herself as an “extroverted introvert”. She enjoys socializing and being with others, but her alone time is essential!

Faith Story: Kelsey grew up attending the Lakewood Church of Christ with her parents in Lakewood, CO. Her mother’s family was originally Methodist, but her dad grew up in a church of Christ family. Kelsey was baptized at age 18, right before leaving for college. She waited until she was 18 to make that commitment so she could be certain that her faith was HERS, and not her parents’. Kelsey wanted to make sure her belief was real before she took that step.

Favorite verse or Bible story: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (There is a time for everything.). The song “Turn Turn Turn” by the 1960s group The Byrds really stuck in her mind as it talks about this passage. Kelsey also has always enjoyed and been inspired by the story of Joshua. Fun fact: “Josh and the Big Wall” was her favorite Veggie Tales story!

Favorite Music: Kelsey enjoys many kinds of music, but K-Pop is a favorite (Favorite Group is Shinee)

Do you play any musical instruments? Alto sax Favorite Animal? Dogs!

Favorite Hymns/Church Songs? The Greatest Commands, Sanctuary Kelsey Sings: Soprano

Favorite Foods: Pasta, noodle dishes Least Favorite: Curry, Spicy food, Nuts in baked goods

Do you enjoy sports/exercising? Kelsey did not enjoy sports growing up – she was afraid of things flying at her head, so any sports involving balls were out! She does, however, love watching baseball. As an adult, she is still not a big fan of playing sports or exercising. She does try to move occasionally. 😊

Favorite Sports Team(s): Colorado Rockies (baseball); Also cheers for the Seattle Mariners and St. Louis Cardinals. Baseball is her only sport, though.

Do you like to Travel? YES! Some of Kelsey’s favorite travel spots: Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, France. Places she’d like to visit: South Korea, and more time in Europe (British Isles, Greece, Italy)

Where have you Worked? Occupational Therapy: Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center, 2 different pediatric outpatient clinics, Kindering (early intervention program, developmental preschool);

Now: Bellevue Church of Christ Office Manager / Administrative Assistant (She is never allowed to leave us!)

What BCOC ministries have you been involved with? YAMS, FriendSpeak, Women’s Ministry

Who has influenced your life most? Her grandmothers, who inspired her to be strong and to love big.

What do you most appreciate about the BCOC family? BCOC has always been a very welcoming church. Plus, as a new member, she appreciated the BCOC nametags, which helped her remember who everyone was. As a visitor or new member, NOT having a nametag on encouraged people to come talk to her, and she liked that. She was/is also impressed by the YAM group, which is a very close, strong, active group.

Suggestions for Improvement at BCOC? Cross-generational or cross-group activities so we can get to know those who are younger/older/different. Examples: YAMS and elderly members game night; young marrieds getting together with long-married couples for inter-generational date night. Elementary school kids having a zoo day with the teens. ALSO – she’d like more of our members to be active (interactive) with the PUBLIC Facebook page, so that, hopefully, nonmembers will be drawn there. This page is different from our private group where we share prayer requests and church news.

Fun Fact About You: Kelsey climbed the Great Wall of China and snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef on the same trip!

If you could ask God a question, what would it be? Why were wasps created? Bees make sense. But wasps just seem mean!

What are you most looking forward to about Heaven? No more pain, sadness, confusion, or suffering of any kind!

“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God…” Philippians 3:1