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Testimonial for New Summit
Academy
Sanders Ergas
707-939-2870
sergas@globalmedtechnologies.net
May 11, 2005
To Whom it May Concern:
I am adressing this message to any and all families who are
interested in finding a unique, enriching, safe, effective,
and caring academic environment for their teenaged sons.
Just under a year ago, my 17-year old son (then 16 years
old) was graduating from an intense, 60-day wilderness program
based in Utah. We had sent our son to Utah as the result of
several attenpts to address his apathy, recreational drug
use, and sense of entitlement. Following the wilderness program,
we were fully prepared to bring our son back home for his
senior year of high school. However, upon attending his wilderness
program graduation, we quickly realized that he had acquired
many new valuable lifestyle tools and behaviors that would
surely be lost or, at best, devalued if he came back to his
old peer group and envirnonment. It was then that we decided
to look for a boarding school alternative.
We were initially introduced to New Summit Academy in Costa
Rica (along with several other "stateside" boarding
schools) through our educational consultant based in San Francisco.
After fully investigating and interviewing a short list of
outstanding schools, we were convinced that NSA most fully
embodied the educational and lifestyle values we were seeking
for our son. These included academic excellence, personal
responsibility and accountability, personal growth through
experiential activities, and respect for nature, others, and
self. The only catch (isn't there always a "catch"?)
was tha NSA was out of the country! We had heard horror stories
about boarding schools outside of the US, and our concern
was real and completely understandable.
However, we had also become completely enamored with NSA's
philosophy as well as the dedication, care, and proficiency
of the NSA staff, whom we had, by this time, spoken to several
times by phone. We called current and former NSA student families
and became more and more comfortable with the idea of our
son living beyond the borders of the US. Long story short,
we flew down to Costa Rica with our son for his first day
at NSA. I am happy to report it was one of the best decisions
we have ever made.
Our son has thrived at NSA. His GPA has gone from 2.5 to
just about straight A's. He has built homes for the poor,
taught local Costa Rican kids to swim, hiked into rain forests,
kayaked amongst whales, worked in local businesses, and countless
other activities he simply would not have had the chance to
experience here at home. Most importantly, he has learned
to value his own life, to fundamentally understand that he
is an intregal part of a greater whole...that he indeed matters.
In more tangible terms, our son has recently been accepted
to attend several California universities, based upon the
excellent academic program at NSA (and, of course, his efforts
in the NSA program!) as well as the university entrance exam
scores he received while attending NSA.
In summary, I reccommend, without reservation, NSA in Costa
Rica for any family seeking a unique, truly life-altering
experience for their son. The staff is completely professional,
the academics are top-notch, the counseling services are incredibly
caring and pro-active, the international experience is irreplacable,
and the gift you will give to your son is priceless. Please
feel free to call me if you have any questions at all.
Best Regards,
Sanders Ergas
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