After struggling with anxiety, TEC at Bryant grad learned to cope, thriving when helping others

Often the greatest joy educators have is when once-struggling students begin to shine and live up to their full potential.

That’s how the staff at The Enrichment Cooperative (TEC) at Bryant feel about Isaac Upp. TEC is Spokane Public Schools’ parent partnership program. Upp came to the school as an elementary student.

“Over time Isaac has become a hardworking, dedicated and genuine example of excellence for the TEC Bryant program,” said counselor Sara Duval. “His journey has not always been easy, and he’s had to work hard to feel confident and comfortable with himself.”

Upp is frank about the difficulties he faced.

“I dealt with a lot of anxiety, and I didn’t have as much socialization as other kids,” he said. “It made school and day-to-day stuff harder.”

Things worsened when he experienced bullying in middle school.

“When he started high school Isaac struggled with anxiety and depression,” Duval said. “Through very intentional work he learned how to best cope with and overcome these struggles.”

The smaller class sizes at TEC allowed him to focus on his studies while enabling him to address his social issues.

“I had to learn to manage my anxiety,” Upp said. “In the last few years, I started really trying to reach out and talk to people. I took the risk and I made friends.”

The staff at TEC marveled at the change in him.

“From freshman year till now, he’s like a different kid,” Duval said. “He interacts with other students and is comfortable in his own skin. He has his own style.”

Upp is proud of the work he put into managing his mental well-being.

“I learned to stand up for myself,” he said. “I learned to navigate social situations.”

He got more practice when he got involved in Boy Scouts. Though he said he initially didn’t enjoy the program, this year he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.

Upp laughed, saying he should have started the process sooner than he did.

“I turned in my Eagle Scout papers on the very last day before I turned 18!”

To his surprise, he enjoyed serving as a camp counselor for six weeks on Melita Island on Flathead Lake in Montana.

“It’s one of my favorite places,” he said.

For his Eagle Scout project, he tackled refurbishing a community garden for Transitions, a nonprofit that works to end poverty and homelessness for women and children in Spokane.

“They had no composting bins, so I got some people together and made them,” Upp said.

As he got ready to make a sign for the garden, he learned another Scout, a 16-year-old Central Valley High School student, had worked on the project but had been killed in a car accident in 2020.

Upp made a sign that reads “The Adam K. England Garden,” in honor of his fellow Scout.

That kindness and generosity didn’t surprise Duval.

“Isaac is a helper by nature and there is no greater example of this than his relationship with his sister Olivia,” she said. “Olivia has many special needs and Isaac has been a dedicated brother to her. This is not out of obligation, but of love. This alone shows me just how far Isaac is going to go in this world.”

To Upp, Olivia is simply his sister.

“She’s an important part of my life,” he said. “I’ve noticed I tend to become sensitive around the issues of special needs people. I have a very humanitarian worldview and believe we need to be kind and to take care of others.”

That’s why he’s drawn to social sciences.

“I really enjoy solving problems,” Upp said. “My passion is sociology.”

He was a Running Start student at Spokane Falls Community College and will be attending Whitworth University in the fall.

Duval is excited to see what his future holds.

“He’s got family support and the grit and drive to be successful,” she said. “He’s caring and compassionate and has become an example for others at TEC of how to find success despite challenges. Isaac is going to be missed.”