Studying to become a nurse at the University of Washington in 1988, Harjeet Sandhu-Fuller got a job as an intern at the UW Hospital.

Though she wouldn’t act on it until she transferred to Eastern Washington University, it was there Fuller decided her calling was not in medicine.

“I wanted to be in a service-sector job,” she said. “But I realized being around sick people every day was not where I wanted to be.”

Fuller had a strong desire to help people, but in a more positive manner. Teaching, she realized, was where she was called to be.

“I felt I was being proactive,” she said. “The medical system is a reactive one mostly.”

Twenty three years later, Fuller is now the new principal at Grass Lake Elementary School in near Covington, a journey which began merely with the desire to teach.

After transferring to Eastern’s nursing program in 1990, Fuller switched to the education program. Teaching at the Robert Reid Lab School located next to the university, she graduated with a Bachelor’s in Education and an Endorsement in ESL and Sociology.

Originally from Auburn, Fuller moved to Bellevue in 1995 and taught at Highland Middle School.

Although she had no intention of becoming a principal, Fuller stated she gradually gained interest as she learned more about the inner workings of administrative duties.

“I was happy (just) to be a teacher,” she said. “Once I started teaching, I started to understand the system.”

At Lake’s High School in the Clover Park School District, she got her first taste of the job as the assistant principal from 1999-2002. She then took on the position of principal at Jason Lee Middle School, where she remained for seven years.

If Fuller’s time at the UW Hospital gave her the impression that nursing wasn’t where she belonged, her time at Jason Lee did the same for middle schools. In 2009, she decided to accept the position of principal at Hillside Elementary School in Fort Lewis.

One of the reasons she switched, Fuller explained, was due to gaps she observed in students’ social and emotional development, which ultimately affected their ability to progress academically.

“Sometimes I felt it was too late to fix the problem,” she said.

In the end, Fuller believed if she was to help middle school students, she would have to start when they were younger, in elementary school.

“I wanted that base to be strong, so they could go to middle school and be successful,” she said. “You can build that at younger years than when they have transferred to middle school.”

Fuller believes a child’s experience in elementary school determines how they view their education down the line, making it imperative they do not encounter problems early on.

“(Elementary) students love school and they love coming to school,” she said. “But for students struggling that love is lost.”

Another factor, she explained, is the uncertainty which comes with the age.

“They’re in that phase of their life where…they’re still kids wanting to make adult decisions,” she said. “It’s about letting them make those decisions, but explaining there are consequences.”

In 2010, Fuller was forced to quit her job at Hillside in order to move to Lewiston, Idaho with her husband, who had moved there for business. They purchased the Cedars Inn, which had been facing financially difficulties. Though it is managed locally, the Fullers still own it while they live in Tacoma.

If running a motel seems unusual for a principal, it’s right at home for Fuller. Her family, which immigrated from Punjab, India, is heavily involved in the business, and Fuller is the only member of her family who has chosen a different career path. Though her background aided them greatly as they worked to get the motel back on its feet, Fuller said her passion has always remained in teaching.

“I really missed it after a year,” she said.

Though she pursued a doctorate while in Idaho, like her nursing career, she felt it was not where she was meant to be.

“I love being around kids,” she said. “I realized I wanted to be in a public school.”

Fuller eventually returned to Washington this year after obtaining the principal job at Grass Lake Elementary. While her goal is to help the students grow academically and emotionally, she stated she is simply continuing what has already been started with the Highly Capable Program. The program allows students in third through sixth grade who demonstrate advanced academic skills to attend certain schools such as Grass Lake, where they are provided with a curriculum designed to meet their pace of learning.

“We have a very capable program,” she said. “My goal is to continue the great work that’s been started.”

Another one of Fuller’s main concerns, the emotional and social maturity of her students, is met through the character development program. The program teaches a specific trait each month, such as respect, and teaches them how to incorporate it into how they interact with their peers.