Keven Wynkoop loved Ballard High School so much that he returned to BHS only five years after his graduation. He started as a history teacher and moved up the ranks to become the youngest principal in the school's history at 35 years old.

"I can't imagine being anywhere else," he said, adding that his story is "the quintessential Ballard story".

Wynkoop attended Ballard High School during the school's "dark ages".

The early 1990s were an era of falling ceiling tiles, a deadly drive-by shooting, and declining enrollment. Seattle Public Schools threatened to close the school altogether.

"There were all those problems and even the building itself was falling apart around us," Wynkoop said. "I was in the middle of it all and loved it."

A third generation BHS graduate, Wynkoop was proud to be a Beaver.

"My friends and I, we were classic old Ballard. We owned everything Ballard," he said. "Ballard has such a unique identity of a small town in a big city. It's a great neighborhood, community, and legacy."

Wynkoop started dating the woman who is now his wife when he was just a high school sophomore and many of his friends married their high school sweethearts, too.

"This was 1950's apple pie for us," he said.

At the time of graduation, Wynkoop knew he wanted to be a teacher and be involved in coaching.

He attended college at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma.

"That was getting out for me," he said.

When Wynkoop was able to get a volunteer coaching position at BHS, he happily returned to Ballard.

Today, he lives in the same house he grew up in and gets to continue living in high school.

"I'm still living high school," he said. "And it gets better every year."

While a few of his former teachers became his colleagues, the school had moved into its new building by then, making the return less awkward for Wynkoop.

"The building was a clean slate plus many of the veteran teachers retired because of the move," he said, adding that Valerie Green, Wynkoop's former German teacher, still teaches at the school.

"I may be the youngest principal but I think that expectations and requirements have pushed it to where you have to be younger in some aspects to keep up with the demands," he said. "The stereotypical 60-something, grey-haired principal is a thing of the past."

Before becoming the principal, Wynkoop served as activities coordinator, a job which helped him see the importance of extracurricular activities.

"Being the activities coordinator really drove home for me the importance of connecting kids with their school and activities," he said. "Find a way to get involved with your school through sports, arts, music, academies, or clubs. Whatever it is, that involvement is what gives you the best high school experience."

Wynkoop said he was a "jock-nerd", playing baseball and basketball while also being serious about his education.

He acknowledged that today's teenager deals with a lot of pressure coming from the economy, colleges, sports, and home life. But he also praised today's students for their ability to not only cope with these pressures but to give back to the community.

"What sets today's teenagers apart is their commitment to giving back to the community," he said. "Kids go far beyond the minimum graduation volunteer requirement. It has really become ingrained in their character."

Wynkoop's main goal as a principal is to see his students succeed and have a positive high school experience.

"Because [high school] was such a great experience for me, I want to recreate it for all my kids. I want all 1600 of them to have that wonderful, positive experience that I had," he said.

His own two children -- his nine-year-old son and five-year-old daughter -- have been part of the BHS experience from an early age.

"I've gone out of my way to make my [own] kids be part of my experience here," he said. "But if they, as rebellious teenagers, decide to go somewhere else, more power to them."

Due to the location of their house, Wynkoop explained that his kids will have the option to become fourth generation Beavers or first generation Roughriders.

But regardless of which school they might choose, Wynkoop will forever be a Beaver.