As an enthusiastic teacher, a talented performer, a committed social activist, and a dedicated mother of triplets, Lindsey Larson demonstrates exemplary abilities to lead and organize with fervor, to tackle challenges with courage, and to act on behalf of others with infectious zeal, despite not yet reaching the age of 40.
She served as Drum Major for the Canton High School Marching Band, performed in numerous plays, musicals, and Madrigals, reached the IHSA State Speech Competition in Poetry, and earned First Princess in the Friendship Festival Queen competition. High School is also where Lindsey became an alumnus of Spoon River College, as a Dual Credit student.
As a teenager, Lindsey also volunteered at KARE, where kids and adults with special needs enjoy joint activities in social settings. Her rewarding work at KARE led Lindsey to Northern Illinois University right after high school where she earned a degree in special education. After graduation, Lindsey began teaching in DeKalb. While there, she also continued performing in local theatre. She met her future husband, Josh, and they moved to Washington after getting married. She taught special education, participated in shows, and earned her master’s degree from Xavier University.
They decided to start a family and learned, while participating in an SRC Community Chorus production, that they would become parents of triplets — Hannah, Gwendolyn, and Elliot. They moved back to Canton within a few years.
Chad Murphy, Director of the SRC Adult Education program, encouraged Lindsey to consider Spoon River College as her next career move and she accepted a position as GED instructor in 2019.
Today Lindsey serves on the board and teaches at The Breathing Tree Yoga Studio on the Square in Canton. She fits in SRC Community Chorus performances around her children’s schedules. She organizes the local Live Life Full fundraisers, which has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research.
She credits her background in special education with being her primer for advocating for her own special needs child, life as a GED instructor, and life as a community member who works to help lift others up and realize their own potential.
