Students at Bay View High School welcomed back alumna Pamela (Kitzman) Karg, Class of 1977, on Feb. 26, 2026, as part of the school’s “Legends of Bay View” project, an initiative that invites graduates to share how their high school experiences shaped their careers and life paths.
Karg, a former features editor of The Oracle, spoke candidly about growing up in Milwaukee, traveling the world, and building a life rooted in service, faith, and courage.
“I didn’t have much growing up,” Karg told students. She described living in public housing at West Lawn Apartments off Silver Spring and moving five times before her parents were able to purchase a home.
As a teenager, she babysat for 25 cents an hour and practiced disciplined saving.
“If I made $13, I would allow myself to keep $3,” she said. “The other $10 went straight into the bank. That’s where I learned to save.”
Karg attended Trowbridge and Fritsche Middle School before graduating from Bay View in 1977. She later studied at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Denver. However, much of her education, she said, happened beyond the classroom.
“In Senegal, my classroom was under a mango tree,” Karg said.
She has worked internationally, including in Madagascar, where she helped cooperatives organize to sell vanilla and compete with larger corporations. She shared photos of entrepreneurs she met — including a man transporting bananas by bicycle and another operating what she described as a “traveling department store” from his bike.
“You build success step by step,” she told students, encouraging them to learn basic business skills and start small.
Karg has lived in Kenya for a year and in Armenia for 20 years. She learned Spanish while attending Milwaukee Public Schools and now speaks some Armenian and Swahili. She described living a minimalist lifestyle focused less on possessions and more on purpose.
“When I travel, I’m not worried about things,” she said. “I’m worried about having water.”
Students asked questions about her experiences abroad, including whether she was ever afraid.
“I am not scared because I have great faith,” Karg said. “I believe we do the best we can while we are here. At the end of the day, we are all people.”
She also shared a personal story about her sister’s death from pancreatic cancer. In her sister’s memory, Karg used family-gifted funds to provide food to a family in Kenya.
Her message to students centered on lifelong learning and courage.
“Learn one new thing every day,” she said. “That’s education. It can be in a classroom or in life.”
The “Legends of Bay View” project aims to connect current students with alumni whose journeys began in the same hallways. Through interviews and storytelling, students explore how Bay View influenced graduates’ ambitions and values.
Karg encouraged students to step outside their comfort zones, take Milwaukee Recreation classes, set goals, and pursue opportunities that stretch them.
“The biggest thing I learned is to have the courage to try new things,” she said, adding with a smile that she has eaten mouse kabobs, snails, and caterpillars during her travels.
She ended her visit with simple advice:
“Most of all, find joy.”
For students participating in the Legends of Bay View project, Karg’s visit was a reminder that big dreams can grow from humble beginnings — and that a Bay View education can open doors around the world.
