Carla Lam was born and raised in Michigan . She attended the University of Michigan for two years before transferring to Olivet Nazarene University to complete a bachelor’s program in biology with a minor in chemistry. After teaching for several years in New Mexico , she returned to Michigan to teach and raise a family. While there, she attended Central Michigan University to obtain teaching credentials in mathematics and history.

Carla and her two children moved to Alaska in 1995, where she taught in Old Harbor for four years, then a year split between Big Sandy Lake and Ouzinkie due to the logging camp closing in Big Sandy Lake . The following year, she moved to Kodiak and took a position at Central Office working in the curriculum department. During this time, Carla completed a master’s program in education at Michigan State University . She returned to the classroom when her youngest child left for college. She currently teaches history full time at the high school, which she thoroughly enjoys, and is working on a master’s degree in history through the American Military University.