A nudge from her sister steered her into the classroom. A moment of faith, she says, brought her to Evergreen Elementary as its new principal.

Cathy Winn arrived in Wrangell last month with more than two decades in teaching, academic leadership and student support, including stints as a career coach and an elementary principal. Until recently, she led a school in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

One evening, she said, a friend urged her to check a website listing education jobs in Alaska. A posting for Wrangell caught her eye. She began the online application, then stopped midway.

The next day, the phone rang.

“Kim called and asked me if I planned to finish the application process, and I thought that was so interesting,” Winn said, referring to Kimberly Powell, the school’s administrative assistant. “I truly do feel like the hand of God brought me here.”

The move from southwest Arkansas to Southeast Alaska, she added, was uncharacteristically smooth.

“Everything about this move has been simple. I couldn’t have hoped for it to go better,” she said.

Education wasn’t her first plan. Winn entered college as a business major but quickly became disenchanted. Her sister suggested she try teaching, telling her she had the temperament for it. Winn switched paths and never looked back.

Her first job in education took her overseas to Brussels, Belgium, where she taught for a year at the International Christian Academy, a private Christian school. Afterward, she returned to her hometown of Van Buren, Arkansas, to continue teaching.

Administration came later. Winn said she got her first real glimpse of the principal’s role in 2009, watching how decisions were made beyond the classroom.

“I got to see behind the scenes in 2009, and I got to see what the principals did,” she said. “I saw how the administrative side was able to make decisions to help all of the children. I wanted to be a part of that.”

She moved into leadership in 2014, a step that would eventually lead her north. When she opened the Wrangell application this year, she wasn’t actively seeking a change, she said. But a note she had written earlier in a Christian journal lingered in her mind: a promise to go wherever she felt led — and a line naming Alaska as a place she should be willing to go.

The transition to Wrangell has felt natural, Winn said. She’s settling into the rhythms of a new community and climate, and checking off a few practical boxes, too.

“I just bought a new truck,” she said with a laugh. “It’s four-wheel drive and I love it.”

At Evergreen, Winn said she plans to build on the school’s strengths while exploring new tools to bolster instruction and student support. One goal is to introduce age-appropriate, closely guided uses of artificial intelligence in classrooms to enhance learning.

“I’m fascinated with that technology, and I think there is a good opportunity to help more children with it,” she said. “If we use it wisely, it can open doors.”