By Bella Osgood
NEWPORT — Kristie Howe is working to help Newport’s youth.
As program coordinator and president of the Newport Opera House Board of Directors and as a college and career specialist at Sugar River Valley Regional Technological Center, she works to ensure Newport’s next generation seizes opportunities.
At Newport High School’s career technical center, Howe works closely with Center Director Eric Perry and plans on working closely with Newport Economic Director Allison Browning.
As a career specialist, Howe finds internship and workplace opportunities for students and works to connect students with opportunities after high school. She helps students determine if they want to apply to college, go to trade school or transition directly into the workforce. She promotes college tours and helps students with applications. Howe says she works “to make connections to benefit both the students and the economy, since the economy needs more workers.”
“I’m most excited about educating the community and students about the potential opportunities they have access to,” she said, “Students need to know about what opportunities exist.” When students return to class in the fall, it will be the first time Howe is both president of the Opera House and a career specialist.
Howe decided to join the Opera House Board after a ten-year break, when the Newport Opera House Association was experiencing a transition as it looked for a new director and worked through a lease agreement with the town of Newport.
After rejoining the board, Howe was appointed president. The issues the board faced previously were resolved and the Opera House is “gaining momentum again,” Howe said. This summer, work to bring the building up to current standards is underway, as emergency exits are upgraded, during what is typically the un-air-conditioned Opera House’s slow season.
“The past couple of months have been a challenge but the renovation is necessary, so the emergency exits accommodate a building of this size,” Howe said.
Through the Opera House, Howe has been director of the Newport Winter Carnival Pageant for ten years; another opportunity to work with the community’s youth.
“The pageant gives me the opportunity to build the confidence and skills of young women,” she said. Some of these skills include public speaking and stage presence. Howe also said it is good to see girls of all backgrounds participate in the pageant. Whether they have performance experience or not.
“It is really important to build each other up and that is something that we really focus on throughout the pageant. While it’s a competition, [the participants] help each other, by giving each other feedback and support. With social media especially, it’s really easy to put people down and hide behind a wall of technology, but when you are practicing with people every week and seeing their vulnerabilities, and then later seeing each other be successful, it really builds a sisterhood.”
Howe grew up in Newport. Her parents previously owned Kathan Gardens. Her grandparents owned Violet’s Supermarket. She went to the University of New Hampshire for Business Management and, after college, she returned to Newport because she “missed the Newport community and being near her family.”
She is married to Buddy Howe, and they have two sons, Caleb and Sawyer.
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