Dina Coverstone (center) hosted foreign exchange students Sofia Caligara (left) and Claudia Campal this past school year. Photo provided by Dina Coverstone.

By Nathan Pace
InkFreeNews

If you are involved in pretty much anything that has to do with Wawasee you are likely to have come across Dina Coverstone. Coverstone has been teaching and coaching in the school district for over twenty years.

“I was raised to leave roots in your community and be involved and be supportive,” Coverstone said.

Coverstone is a Wawasee alumna and has been a teacher in the area since 2002. The role she has had the most and currently serves is being a fifth grade teacher at Syracuse Elementary School. Coverstone said she knew teaching was her future vocation back in middle school.

“I knew when I was in the sixth grade,” Coverstone said. “Just really enjoyed being around kids and set my mind on being a teacher.”

Coverstone tries to build a rapport with her students and will try to attend their sporting events.

“My first class of fifth graders holds a spot in my heart and I actually keep in touch with a lot of them. Every group of kids has a uniqueness to them. I thinks it’s one of the things I like about teaching. No day is the same,” Coverstone said.

When she studied education at Manchester University, Coverstone was aiming to teach first, second and third graders but that did not last for long.

“Fifth grade is my jam. They are right on the cusp of turning into little teenagers but they are still little kids where they have that excitement and that wonder about lots of things but they can joke around with you. They are really coming into their own. I also really like the curriculum I get to teach too,” Coverstone said.

In addition to teaching, Coverstone has been a girls basketball coach and youth leader at local churches. She was an assistant to Matt Carpenter for the Wawasee girls basketball team for six seasons and has coached in some capacity in the area for 25 years. However, her new favorite way to stay connected to the community has been becoming a host parent for foreign exchange students.

“There has always been this little tug in my heart that this was something that I want to try,” Coverstone said. “When I retired from coaching I did my research and I went ‘Yep, I’m going to do this.’”

This past school year, Coverstone hosted a foreign exchange student from Italy in Sofia Caligara and another from Spain in Claudia Campal. Both joined the Wawasee tennis team and Coverstone joined them for their senior day.

“I tell people the power of prayer made this perfect little match. The girls got along so well. It was just a great experience,” Coverstone said. “I think I found my new niche. I am going to take a year off to save up to go see them next summer. I will be hosting again.”

Coverstone says she will take a year off from hosting this school year. She had previously attempted to host an exchange student in 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic canceled those efforts.

Another way Coverstone stays connected to the area is through playing the bass guitar for the worship team at the Vineyard Community Church in Syracuse.

While her heart is in the Wawasee community, Coverstone says traveling is a big hobby and it helped her when it came to hosting foreign exchange students.

“I like to learn about the world,” Coverstone said. “I like to travel. When you invite people from other cultures to come live with you you’re going to learn a lot. It was just neat.”