In August 2016, Helena accidentally discovered Hamilton, An American Musical while driving her daughter’s car…because her husband was driving her car… because his truck had been in an accident. Her daughter gave her the edited version of the CD from her car.
In early September 2016, Helena accidentally fell and while elevating her sprained ankle, she listened to all 46 songs while simultaneously reading the lyrics and stories in the book “Hamilton, The Revolution” by its creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter. What started as an accident developed into a quest for historical facts.
Helena called the Paramount Theatre seeking pre-show education which, she discovered, did not exist for adults, only for students through the Gilder Lehrman Insititute. The Paramount staff suggested she start her own sessions, which she did in Jan. 2017. She developed and hosted monthly “Hamilton Discussion Groups” as part of the Kent 50 + Program until June 2020 when she retired from her 30+ year career.
In July 2017, a local D.A.R. chapter called the Paramount staff seeking similar education, and the staff member recommended Helena, who initially declined the invitation because she was—and is—not a historian, teacher or professor. Subsequently, Helena’s mother, an immigrant from the Philippine Islands with limited education, encouraged her to share what she knew “because that is important history.” So she changed her mind and presented an educational workshop entitled “Hamilton and the Musical that Helped Find the Forgotten Founding Father” on January 6, 2018 for the Daughters of the American Revolution Chapter near Seattle.
Because it went so well she was inspired to offer similar workshops at other venues as interest was shown. With the help of her son and the honorarium from her first two sessions, Helena launched her “empty next” adventure in January 2019. A list of her Previous Presentations from 2017 to 2019 is posted below the list of 6 web pages.
Now that Helena has retired, she is looking forward to continuing her life-long passion for promoting “How to Create a Legacy Project” to all ages. In addition to helping to elevate Alexander Hamilton and his wife Eliza to their rightful place of prominence in our nation’s history, she is encouraging others to share their life-stories…….and it all began accidentally.