This year’s Lifelong Learner and Youth Learner were honored and awarded at the annual Celebration of Lifelong Learning on Saturday, March 29, at the Homer Public Library. The 2025 Lifelong Learner Award recipient was Carol Comfort-Waldorf. The 2025 Youth Learner Award recipient was Beatrix McDonough.

McDonough is a senior at Homer High School, where she serves as senior class treasurer and co-president of the National Honor Society.

Ann Dixon nominated McDonough for the Youth Learner award. She said she first got to know McDonough through watching her grow up at the library. In later years, they grew closer, when Dixon asked McDonough to take care of her gardens while she was traveling.

“She’s curious and funny and likes to learn new things,” said Dixon, on Saturday. “She thinks for herself, and her opinions have thoughtful reasoning behind them. She’s also not just aware of herself, but of others around her and in the community and the world. In short, I’m thrilled to see Bea receive this award. She epitomizes a lifelong learner, and I’m absolutely certain that going forward, she will continue to be just that.”

McDonough said during her speech on Saturday that she grew up at the library and shared many fond memories from her childhood.

“Each time I finished a book, the library stacks felt like a treasure trove where I could choose any piece of gold I wanted. I look back very fondly on those days and the way that the library has been such a magical place for so many kids growing up. Besides being a place where I always felt safe, the library sparked many discoveries for me. One of these summer days in later years, I learned that the library was even bigger than just the kids’ room. I wandered through the stacks that towered over me, and it felt like a jumble of information.”

This early exposure stuck with McDonough, and a year and a half ago, she volunteered as the student representative to the Library Advisory Board through the city, a position she said has only furthered her passion for library advocacy.

An early participant of the Summer Reading Program, McDonough said she won a trophy in the Lego competition for her piece titled “Bug World” when she was 5 years old. She still has the trophy and passed it around the room during her speech.

“I want each of you to hold it for the moment, maybe close your eyes and feel some of that pure joy that I felt at 5 years old, because I feel like we all need a little more of that good energy in our lives.”

McDonough was presented with her award by Friends of the Homer Library student representative, McKenna Black, who McDonough said was her best friend who inspires her every day.

Comfort-Waldorf has lived in Homer for 40 years. A well-known, local piano teacher, she shared in her speech on Saturday that an oncologist once told her she would be lucky to be alive in five years, which was a shocking moment for her. This experience motivated her to become the “CEO of her own health,” which ultimately led her to study functional medicine. The experience inspired her, and, after successfully beating Stage 4 cancer, Comfort-Waldorf became a certified health coach and began work to help others optimize their health.

Matthew Smith, who nominated Comfort-Waldorf, said he first got to know her through his children, who started taking piano lessons with her about seven years ago.

“What I’ve seen in Carol is she has a deep caring and a kindness for others, and that really inspires her curiosity, her interest in learning and her interest in teaching. I think that’s sort of her superpower, and what’s given her the impact that she has in other people’s lives.”

Comfort-Waldorf spoke of growing up in the Pacific Northwest and an early education under progressive Jesuit priests known for their ability to “educate and inspire.” She said themes of social justice, community service, and activism were tightly woven into her early, educational experiences. She remembers reading “Dune” and feminist literature, and credited the experience for shaping her lifelong approach to both learning and community. After grade school, she attended Evergreen State College, known for its flexible, interdisciplinary degree programs.

She then shared a passage from a John O’Donohue poem, something she said she recites every morning as a kind of meditation and which, she said, embodies the idea of lifelong learning.

Other notable events from the night included performances by local, theatrically inclined youth. Raiden Skorski-O’Donnell recently competed in the annual statewide Poetry Out Loud competition in Juneau, placing second. He recited “Drowning in Wheat” by John Kinsella, “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley, and “Poem with Human Intelligence” by J. Estanislao Lopez. Skorski-O’Donnell is also the team captain of the local Drama, Debate, and Forensics (DDF) club at Homer High School.

Finn Spitler, who also participates in DDF, performed a humorous interpretation from his time with the club of James Pinkerton’s “How to Write Suspense.” Leland Curits recited “Cartoon Physics, Part I” by Nick Flynn.

Appetizers from Vida’s Thai Food were served by Homer Middle School students as celebrants gathered around silent auction items and Kathleen Gustafson’s iconic trivia tree, laden with handcrafted paper trivia questions ranging from “What are the black keys of a piano called?” and “What was Shakespeare’s longest play?” to simple illustrations and images. Beaded necklaces were bestowed upon those who correctly answered questions. Desserts from Red Bird Kitchen were served after the awards ceremony.

The Lifelong Learner Awards and Celebration of Lifelong Learning have been an annual commemoration and fundraiser for the library since they began in 2009. In 2011, the addition of the Youth Learner Award was made to honor Adi Jo Davis and proceeding recipients. In 2020, the Sue Gibson Community Achievement Award was given to local author Dana Stabenow, and in 2022, Olivia Glasman was honored with a Library Spirit Award.

Awardee Beatrix McDonough, left, and Friends of the Homer Library Student Representative McKenna Black stand in front of the room of supporters during the annual Celebration of Lifelong Learning event at the Homer Public Library on Saturday, March 29, 2025. Black presented McDonough with her award. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)

Awardee Carol Comfort-Waldorf, left, and Friends of the Homer Library President Joy Steward stand in front of the gathered crowd during the annual Celebration of Lifelong Learning event at the Homer Public Library on Saturday, March 29, 2025. Steward presented the award to Comfort-Waldorf. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)

Awardee Carol Comfort-Waldorf, left, and Friends of the Homer Library President Joy Steward stand in front of the gathered crowd during the annual Celebration of Lifelong Learning event at the Homer Public Library on Saturday, March 29, 2025. Steward presented the award to Comfort-Waldorf. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)

Musicians Daniel Christ and Sophie Williams perform live music during the annual Celebration of Lifelong Learning event at the Homer Public Library on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)

Students play a card game at the center of this year’s upcoming Summer Reading Program during the annual Celebration of Lifelong Learning event at the Homer Public Library on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)

A community member reaches for a question card hanging from Kathleen Gustafson’s iconic trivia tree during the annual Celebration of Lifelong Learning event at the Homer Public library on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)