For someone who has lived in many cool places, it’s almost shocking to hear Mrs. Kate Valles say, “I think a lot of people, we roll our eyes about it [Virginia Beach], but in our hearts, we all know it’s a cool place to be.”
Mrs. Kate Valles teaches AP Comparative Government and World Religion at Cape Henry Collegiate. She came here for some philosophical and logistical reasons.
Logistically, she is a military spouse and her husband got orders to Oceana. Philosophically, she was looking for somewhere she wanted to be, inside of the area she had no choice in coming to be. The community of Virginia Beach and Cape Henry was able to give her that great vibe.
“The vibe here is just great, not just in Virginia Beach but here at Cape Henry,” Valles said.
Mrs. Valles was born in Australia but her father’s occupation moved them to the United States.
“He was a surgeon so he came to the United States because of his career,” Valles says.
She had an intellectual childhood due to the influence of her parents.
“We didn’t have television so there was a lot of sitting around, reading books and drinking coffee,” she said.
Valles said she moved back and forth from the states to Australia about four times.
“At one point I took a gap year and came to the States, and that’s when I met this guy who is my husband now,” she said.
Mrs. Kate Valles said she fell head over heels with a military man and decided to follow her heart and move to Hawaii with him, where they ended up living for 14 years. After that they moved to Japan, Washington state and finally to Virginia Beach.
“We are a weird combination of things, “ she said. “My husband is Venezuelan and I’m Australian. We’ve lived in the United States but we’ve lived outside of the United States too.
While living in Virginia Beach, she has the opportunity to grow closer with her family. She is a mother to Ines Valles, a junior at Cape Henry Collegiate, and Cruz Valles, a 7th grade student, at Cape Henry.
“My sister lives in town with her family, and my mom has just moved to town so this is the first time ever as an adult that I’ve lived close to family,” Valles says. “For the past ten years all of my siblings have lived in different countries from each other.”
Not only does Mrs. Kate Valles dedicate her time to supporting her two children but she also makes sure to connect with her extended family. She takes advantage of family time since traveling impacted that. Travel and other factors still influence her everyday life in other areas, such as her wardrobe.
“I was in high school in the early 90s when fashion really blew up,” she said. “My style role models were Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, the original supermodels.”
Mrs. Kate Valles loves a timeless classic look, inspired from the original fashionistas and designers such as Donna Karen and Calvin Klein. Although she has a passion for fashion, she also has a passion for teaching and passing wisdom to the next generation.
“Know that life is so awesome and there’s so many ways to be successful,” she said. “Don’t get hung up on worrying about what people think or where you go to school – just get at it, grab life.”
