Delphian Magazine - Issue 129

The Ability to Learn

In order to teach somebody something, it is necessary that he be able to learn. If someone can’t learn, then he can’t find out how to do anything.

This is terribly fundamental. Yet all great successes are built on attention to fundamentals. Unless you can isolate these fundamentals, you leave your building with an incomplete foundation. You wouldn’t build any skyscrapers if you didn’t first put down a foundation.

In learning, that foundation is, of course, the ability to learn. Page 1 The Study Handbook: Principles and Techniques for Effective Learning first edition 2019 Published

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K-12 Founding Delphi School

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HEAD OF SCHOOL Trevor Ott

EDITOR Rebecca Orthmann

PHOTOGRAPHY Skyler Feilmeier, Brandon Lidgard, Cristofer Maximilian

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

An excerpt from the Head of School Address at Parents Weekend 2023

by Trevor Ott

Sometimes I think to myself that you all already know everything there is to know about this school. To some degree, that is true. That you have chosen us to assist in your child’s education is a big decision, and in having done that, you stand amongst our greatest supporters.

I realize that even before enrollment, you know a lot about who we are and the importance of what we are doing here as it concerns your children, the field of education, and society as a whole. What we are doing here is different, and though the technology we employ was developed many decades ago by L. Ron Hubbard, it remains more advanced than anything else in use or development today. It is still new news, and it is newsworthy.

Two weeks ago, at our weekly Wednesday night staff meeting, this concept hit me newly, differently. I’ve been attending staff meetings for 23 years, so what is covered in any given week is not always new news to me, but this meeting was different. I don’t know if the staff meeting itself was different or if it was a difference in me.

Either way, I was inspired, and I want to share with you two parts of that meeting as they were shared with the staff and the faculty.

STAFF MEETING PART ONE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DEAN

In the first part of the meeting, our Dean, Jordan Siegel, shared a selection of highlights she collected from staff and students regarding various activities happening daily around the school, including the following:

Choir Highlight

After a choir trip, Upper School choir director Adam Whitworth sent a photo with this story: “I thought I’d share this

moment from yesterday. This photo is not staged. I had to snap it before they saw me. The choir rolled into this really great bookstore/coffee shop in Scappoose. We had 90 minutes to kill before the awards ceremony. I told the students that it was regular protocol for us to do a study hall. The owner told me he was initially worried about seeing a school bus, but after twenty kids ordered, spread out, and started studying, and it was really quiet (most students reading physical books too), he was like, ‘What is this voodoo??’”

Form 3 Reading Highlight

Form 3 student OceanLee wrote the following about reading: “My favorite subject is R-E-A-D-I-N-G! I love reading because when I read, it feels like the story sucks me into it. When I am reading, I do not realize what’s happening around me!

“Like one time I tried to walk and read. I am never doing that again. I ran into three walls, six chairs, and two people! And that is why I love reading, but not reading and walking!”

Course Completion Highlight

Ansel Sessions wrote the following about what he learned when he completed The Thinking Book course: “I thoroughly enjoyed this course. I felt like I gained an enormous amount of data from this course. I learned words such as datum, law, and fact. I also learned all the outpoints and pluspoints. I feel this course left no holes in my knowledge, and it will almost certainly help me in the rest of my courses and throughout my life.”

Writing Highlight

Form 6 supervisor Cristofer Maximilian said the following about his student Elliot Adams: “Elliot came to me today to let me know that he had counted up the essays he’d written in his previous schooling: thirty-two. He told me that he’s now written over ninety since being at Delphian. He was very proud of this!

“He also wrote an essay for Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, strongly criticizing Tom Sawyer. His mom happened to see the essay and shared it with a friend who teaches at a school in Washington. The friend thought it was great and told her that he really wished his school would allow students to write essays like that (where they don’t have to regurgitate the book and are allowed to be critical of ‘classics,’ etc.).”

Course Completion Highlight

After completing The Study Handbook, Katja de Vries had this to say: “The Study Handbook made many good points

about education and how it affects students and children. Many of my viewpoints changed after reading this book. I used to think education was just what gets taught through books, but now I see that education is also things like projects and activities.

“My conclusion about the approach of teaching and learning presented in this course is that strong, smart, and capable people are the main goal. Education is there to create individuals who are self-determined and competent. The idea of selfdeterminism stood out to me most of all. Self-determinism determines an individual’s success and is important to a society’s growth. The Study Handbook details the ideas and approaches that will create truly competent individuals.”

Career Interest Apprenticeship Highlight

Form 7 student William Collins did a career interest apprenticeship with local contractor Paul Janowski. Here is what Paul had to say about William’s performance: “Thank you for choosing Oregon Curb Appeal for your Delphian School internship. I am glad that our project workload coincided with your internship requirements.

“As for your work, you were easy to train and quickly grasped the many different tasks you were given without needing much in the way of handholding. I purposefully gave you a range of tasks. [He listed about thirty.]

“Your attitude was outstanding each day, and you were a pleasure to work with. Your parents must be very proud of you, and I would not be at all surprised to see you exceed your life goals.”

Career Interest Apprenticeship Highlight

Senior Saachi Mann did a career interest apprenticeship at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. Here is what her advisor had to say about her performance: “What a privilege it was to meet this delightful young woman. Saachi contacted me to see about shadowing at our farm during the tulip festival.

“She arrived early and was willing to do anything we asked of her.

“Saachi met a lot of people in our organization and was able to spend time with a couple of the other owners.

“Everyone I checked with was very impressed with her demeanor, her asking appropriate questions, and her willingness to jump in and do whatever was asked of her. She used her time wisely, and when a task was finished, she came looking for more to do.

“Her training at your school reflects the solid foundation to be successful in this life. I hope that she excels in her given trade.”

STAFF MEETING PART TWO: A BRIEFING FROM THE DIRECTOR OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

In the next part of the staff meeting, we watched a video created by Alan Rothe, our Director of Curriculum Development. The video was created to brief various other schools using our curriculum and program.

[start of video transcript]

Who are we, and why do we do what we do?

Here’s a planet you are intimately familiar with.

When we began curriculum development back in 1976, we did so for specific reasons. The planet, our planet, needed some attention. Why? Well, it had and still has certain characteristics we’re all too familiar with: war, insanity, criminality, drugs, illiteracy, and immorality.

One might ask, why are so many people so confused? There could be many thoughts about this, and many would be valid. But I want to focus on one thing: false data and its impacts on the field of education.

I can say, with some degree of certainty, the whole field of education lives in a fog. Sorry to be so blunt, but I’m afraid it is true. I could go on for hours discussing the crazy, false, and often terribly destructive ideas people, usually of the best intentions, are operating on out there in the field of education.

The wonderfully good news about this is that something can be done about it!

How? How does one go about attacking the smothering cloud of fog in the field of education? Exactly how it was begun in 1976 and has been carried on since by L. Ron Hubbard-based research and discovery—by carefully studying and applying Hubbard’s discoveries in the fields of study, education, children, and learning to K-12 education.

The result back then was, and still is, curriculum and graduation requirements. There are many, many things we do and produce in curriculum development: books, learning guides, project guides, faculty manuals, lesson plans, exams, form exams, diagnostic tests, software, flashcards, workbooks, and the list goes on and on. But ultimately, it all ends up as curriculum and graduation requirements. We research, we develop, we test, we publish, and if we do it well, it gets into your hands as materials you can use to produce graduates. And those graduates turn

back around and attack the fog we set about trying to clear nearly fifty years ago. Whether they are full Form 8 Delphian graduates or Delphi Academy High School graduates, or graduates of whatever you offer as your highest level, you send them back into the fog, and they help bring some clarity to the parts of the world, large or small, that they have chosen to play in.

Because we have done the work to make these materials, they are increasingly coming out in a form that others can understand, appreciate, and use, so you get this side product—materials export.

And now you have the simple picture of what we do here in curriculum development. We take the powerful truths provided by Mr. Hubbard, apply them to education in the form of truly workable educational materials (curriculum and graduation requirements), and give them to you. You make graduates, and graduates help us clear the fog, bolstered and assisted by the export of sane educational materials more broadly.

Eventually, the fog starts to clear because the false data is replaced by true data. And someday, if we just keep at it, we will achieve a big, big goal: a civilization based in reason.

[end of video transcript]

That video got me to see what we are doing here in a new way.

To summarize, we live on a planet in a society in need of help, covered by fog, false data, and even destructive ideas which permeate our culture and the educational system.

What exactly are we doing here on this hill?

Heron Books is developing valuable, truthful, agenda-free educational materials to assist Delphi Schools in creating graduates.

Those graduates, armed with truly useful information and the ability to think and change conditions for the better, leave to enter the broader world and do their work to lift the fog.

To assist them in that work, Heron Books makes those same materials available to the broader world—creating little pockets of truth and sanity for those graduates to operate in with at least some existing agreement and understanding upon which to build their lives.

Simple yet complete. That’s exactly what we are doing.

How’s it going? Look a student in the eye. Imagine the future.

Still, we need to do more. We need to have more students. We need to be full. We need to graduate more students at a higher level of selfdeterminism each year. And we need to get more truth out in the world to assist them in lifting the fog.

I have one recent highlight along that line to share.

In the 1950s and 1960s, L. Ron Hubbard did extensive research in the field of education. He made his discoveries available to members of his church through writing and lecture. Those discoveries were of such importance to the future of humankind that in the 1970s, he granted permission for their use to Applied Scholastics International, a secular nonprofit with the mission to make those discoveries available as broadly as possible.

Heron Books and the Delphian School, also founded in the 1970s, were licensed by Applied Scholastics to use those discoveries and took

on responsibility for helping to create secular materials primarily for use here in the Delphi program, but always with the hope of making them more broadly available too.

In 2019, in partnership with Applied Scholastics, we were authorized to make available worldwide the secularized discoveries of Mr. Hubbard that we had been using for many years.

And that brings me to the final highlight from that staff meeting.

Just a few weeks ago, President of Applied Scholastics, Christine Gerson (here in the room with us now) went to Samoa along with her team and 1500 copies of a book developed and piloted here.

That book is Teaching: A New Approach, which covers many of the most important philosophical aspects that make our educational program work. Along with those books went ten thousand dictionaries, including several hundred of the Heron Derivation Dictionary and a shipping container full of other materials.

A total of 747 educators were trained directly by this team, all either completing a course on Teaching: A New Approach or attending a seminar-style introduction to the three barriers to study. The vast majority received training in both.

While there, the Assistant Chief Executive Officer for the Samoan Teacher Training Division told the Applied Scholastics team that Teaching: A New Approach is the only training she wants the Ministry of Education to roll out this year, as it is the only material that is actually going to improve the teacher attitudes and the classroom environment, and thus make a difference in student achievement.

In addition to that, 240 educators signed up for further training at the Applied Scholastics main campus in St. Louis, Missouri, where they will complete the same course we use to train our own faculty using the far more comprehensive Education: Fostering Reason and Selfdeterminism in Students, also developed here and published by Heron Books.

As exciting as all that is, it is just the beginning. Samoa’s Minister of Education intends to get this training in every

school and into the hands of every educator in the country. We are a part of that—a gentle breeze, building into a strong wind, helping clear the fog ahead of our graduates around the world. I thought you’d like to know.

Again, it has been a great year. Thank you for being part of the group. We wouldn’t exist without you, and we are honored by your support.

Thank you for letting me include you in our staff meeting.

I’d like to close by asking you to help me acknowledge the following: the broader team of Heron Books and Delphian, including you, for all the many ways the school receives support; Alan Rothe and Heather Kertchem, in particular, for the internal development of our curriculum, including the secular materials derived from Mr. Hubbard’s writings; Applied Scholastics International and Christine Gerson in particular, for licensing us for the use of those materials; and L. Ron Hubbard for making his research and discoveries in the field of education available to the world.

PARENTS WEEKEND

SERAFINA EARLY LEARNING CENTER

A place of study, safety and enlightenment

On June 3, 2023, the Saturday of Parents Weekend, Delphian School unveiled the brand-new Serafina Early Learning Center. This significant milestone was marked with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Delphian students, staff, alumni, parents, and friends. The incredible new facility seeks to honor the longstanding mission of the Delphian School and serve as a shining symbol of optimism for the future and the many generations of Delphians yet to come.

Nestled in the campus’s charming west staff neighborhood, the center offers an idyllic environment for young students to embark on their lifelong learning journey. Inside, you’ll find a cozy nursery providing a nurturing space for naps, tummy time, and diaper changes, opposite an openplan multipurpose room for snacks, learning, and explorative playtime. Outside, an age-appropriate play structure and a sandbox invite curiosity and creativity, complemented by a covered play space for outdoor fun, no matter the weather. To cap it off, the building has its own bell tower intended to announce and celebrate graduates as they move up to the main building and begin the Delphian program in the Lower School.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony began with an allchoir performance and was presided over by Head of School Trevor Ott, Lower Dean Judi Glenski, the Holyfield, Emrani, and Colaianni-Tuttle families, President of Applied Scholastics International Christine Gerson, Delphian’s chairman of the board Dave Hendry, and the creator of the first iteration of Delphian’s Lower School program Carol Whitworth. A special acknowledgment went to Shon and Ariel Holyfield, the donors for this project.

The following is an excerpt of the dedication Shon Holyfield gave for the building in memory of alumna Melissa McPhail Holyfield:

“In early 2022, we lost a beloved family member, alumna, and staff, Melissa McPhail Holyfield. Melissa was always an advocate for and incredibly passionate about the school. She constantly talked about it, and when she talked about the school, she said that graduating from Delphian was probably one of her greatest achievements and one of the things that she was most proud of.

“To honor her love for Delphian, I called Trevor to discuss the school’s needs. Trevor brilliantly said, ‘We have a need.’ And Serafina became a reality–one that is very fitting to be dedicated to Melissa.

“Serafina, the building itself, is named after a place of study, safety, and enlightenment from Melissa’s book series A Pattern of Shadow and Light. It’s where one of her main characters goes to escape all sorts of danger in their environment in order to have the time and space to expand their abilities.

“The name [for the Early Learning Center] was originally suggested to me by Trevor, who studied and researched [Melissa’s books] and came up with it, and it is a great name. And our family really, really loves it as well.

“We are here because we all share a love for Delphian. Tomorrow, you will see young adults leave Delphian to start their lives. Today we stand at the new starting line, the future beginning for future graduates of Delphian: the Serafina Early Learning Center.

“Delphian has a rich history of empowering young people to succeed in life. There is no question about the quality of a Delphian graduate. The future of Delphian is shaped by all of us, though. With the support of alumni and parents, it is my hope that Serafina will be just one of many exciting new facilities to help Delphian accomplish its educational mission.

“We hereby dedicate this building in honor of Melissa and the shared love we all have for Delphian and the youngest members of our Delphian community.”

1. SHON HOLYFIELD 2. MELISSA MCPHAIL HOLYFIELD’S BEST FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN ATTENDANCE FOR THE CEREMONY OPPOSITE: THE MAIN ACTIVITY ROOM IN THE LEARNING CENTER

The staff and faculty of Delphian would like to thank the Holyfield family for their enormous generosity. Their investment in Delphian’s future represents an investment in the future of education and will allow the youngest of students to begin their Delphian journey in an environment where they will be free to grow, dream, and create their future.

Freedom to Be

By developing and utilizing imagination, children come into possession of themselves and are convinced that they are free to be something. The change with this realization is not an ultimate or absolute thing, for there is a gradient to everything, and there are always new heights above any plateau reached.

Nevertheless, it should be an objective of education to bring the imaginations of children under their own discipline and thereby increase their capability of being what they want to be, not what they are forced to be.

L. Ron Hubbard

Education: Fostering Reason and Self-Determinism in Students

Page 72

1. L-R HEAD OF SCHOOL TREVOR OTT, PRESIDENT OF APPLIED SCHOLASTICS INTERNATIONAL CHRISTINE GERSON, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD DAVE HENDRY, AND LOWER DEAN JUDI GLENSKI

2. STUDENTS OPENING THE CEREMONY WITH A SONG

PETER PAN

Lower School Play

Based on the novel by J.M. Barrie Script adapted by Rachel Karl and Ally Wain

Synopsis

The whimsical story begins with Peter Pan’s urgent request to the fairies to retell the classic tale of his adventures, transporting the story to the Darling family home in London. From there, Peter convinces the three children, Wendy, John, and Michael, along with the help of the spirited Tinkerbell and some pixie dust, to fly with him to the enchanting Neverland. In Neverland, the children find mermaids, lost boys, and pirates. They learn to work together to escape when the pirates capture them.

Cast

Peter Pan….............................……Desmond Robinson

Wendy Darling............................................…Ava Silver

Tinker Bell………........................Clementine Lindman

Nana…..................................……OceanLee Hamilton

John Darling…...................................……River Brown

Michael Darling…................................……Max Silver

Mrs. Darling……........................…Valentine Hepburn

Mr. Darling…….................................…Leo Orthmann

Captain Hook….............................……Trenton Avalos

Smee….............................................……Jude Kathrein

Toots….....................................……DeAngelo Tjepkes

Winkie…....................................……Olivia Orthmann

Sparkle…...................................……Melodie Dambrin

Flashy…..........................................……Noelle Vannier

Pearl……...............................…Skye Marlatt-Calderon

Moonglow….......................................……Ruby Savejs

Jewel……...........................................…Thalia Tjepkes

Tootles……...........................................…Emrys Savejs

Nibs……...................................................…Olive Pope

Harry…...............................................……Lake Brown

Terry…........................................……Winter Hepburn

Crew

Director…...........................................……Rachel Karl

Sets, props, and costumes….....……Lower School Staff

Stage crew........………Lower/Elementary School Staff

Lights & Sound………Ari Cummings & Jensen Barnes

Special thanks to Melissa Pope for her help with hair and makeup.

LAW & ORDER: NURSERY RHYME UNIT

Middle School Play

By Jim and Jane Jeffries

Setting

Scene One: The Wall Where Humpty Dumpty had a Great Fall

Scene Two: The Home of the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe

Scene Three: The L.O.S.E.R.S. Support Group

Scene Four: Mother Goose Forensics Lab

Scene Five: The Home of Jack Sprat

Scene Six: The Courtroom

Cast

In order of appearance

The Punnish Sir......................................Ari Cummings

Detectives.....................................Dublin Baumgardner, Tina Wu, Caden Kennedy

Detective Green.......................................Ansel Sessions

Mare..................................................Mackenzie Reeves

Old Woman................................................Juniper Pope

Children..........................................................Alice Ott, Karyme Inoue Cervantes

Doctor Foster.............................................Adaline Wolfe

Beautiful Swan......................Annika Hamilton Hansen

Jackie Be Nimble...................................Addie Kathrein

Georgie Porgie........................................Luke Robinson

Little Boy Blue.....................................Beckett Gailunas

Mary Had a Little Lamb.................Brunella Plascencia

Little Bo Peep............................................Piper Gibson

Sal.........................................................Dawn Robinson

Mrs. Sprat...........................................Molly McFarland

Jack Sprat......................................Jackson Berceli-Wain

Bailiff ..........................................................Bella Woods

Judge Mental..............................................Lily Olivares

Prosecutor.........................Kataleah Espinosa-Gonzalez

Simple Simon........................................Blythe Kathrein

Defense Attorney.....................................Liana Vannier

Mother Goose............................................Evie Bowling

Humpty Dumpty...........................................Lia Adams

Crew

Play Director.....................................Charity Livingston

Assistant Director..................................Celeste Sessions

Costumes.....................................................Joelle Rothe

Props, Programs & Poster.....................Nathan Cloutier

Sets......................................The Middle School Players

Lights & Sound......................................Colin Lundeen, Amy Ke

Special thank you to Gallery Players for the costumes.

ROMEO & JULIET

Upper School Play

By William Shakespeare

Cast

Juliet….........................................…….Coco Rose-Coates

Capulet, Juliet’s father......................Teo Morales Ashcom

Lady Capulet, Juliet’s mother....................Elizabeth Swan

Nurse...................................................Pennelope Arezzini

Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin.....................................Odin Vargas

Gregory, Capulet’s servingman..............................Leo Jin

Sampson, Capulet’s servingman..............Celeste Sessions

Peta, Nurse’s servingwoman.....................Satori Gailunas

Romeo......................................................Brandon Garcia

Montague, Romeo’s father..................Emiliano Chaparro

Lady Montague, Romeo’s mother........Victoria Guajardo

Benvolio, Romeo’s cousin....................Amelie Rappoport

Abram, Montague’s servingman.....Keoni Sinclair-Hayes

Balthasar, Montague’s servingman.................Reese Wells

Escalus, Prince of Verona.........................Allahta Persons

Paris...............................................................Elliot Adams

Mercutio....................................................William Collins

Sister Lawrence............................................Ella Feilmeier

Sister Mary......................................................Chloe Aden

Commander of the Watch.......................Amelia Peterson

Apothecary................................................Satori Gailunas

Citizens..........................................................Chloe Aden, Keoni Sinclair-Hayes, Sofia Del Francia, Leo Jin, Violet McCuen, Celeste Sessions & Reese Wells

Crew

Director......................................................Melissa Agrillo

Consulting Director......................................Jordan Siegel

Assistant Director.........................................Ella Feilmeier

Special Assistants...............................Pennelope Arezzini, Vivi Beauregard, Sage Daniells & Imogen Dayton

Acting Coaches.............................................Gemma Bell, Corey Orthmann & Adam Whitworth

Fight Scene Coordinator..........................Skyler Feilmeier

Choreography.........................................Sofia Del Francia

Rehearsal Prompter..................................Celeste Sessions

Production Manager..........................Rebecca Orthmann

Student Production Manager.................Sofia Del Francia

Costume Manager....................................Robin Gailunas

Costume Assistants...............Oli Beauregard & Avery Ott

Hair and Makeup..............................................Ella Latch

Hair and Makeup Assistants........................Adison Ackley, Ana Julia Escamilla, Victoria Guajardo, & Serena On Sound.....................................................Scarlet Dowswell

Set Construction............................................Armen Karl

Set Building Crew Manager...................Scarlet Dowswell

Set Building and Stage Crew.......................Lia Ben Dror, Luna Jiang, Mara Urizarbarrena Frias & Katja de Vries

Event Promotion.......................................Rachel Pollack, Paige Bruning & Clementine Suplee

Graphic Design................................................Luna Jiang

COMMENCEMENT

with Rob Adams

This year’s commencement speaker was Rob Adams, who graduated from Delphian in 1991. Since then, he’s spent over three decades helping build new titles for some of the world’s most successful gaming entertainment companies.

After graduating from Delphian, he went on to work at the original Atari, where he witnessed firsthand the disruptive power of new technology on a fragile industry. After surviving the collapse of the US arcade business, he went on to lead the art teams that built Need for Speed and Uncharted for PlayStation. He then helped design Halo, a best-selling science fiction media franchise.

And, for the past ten years, he’s been leading the teams who create Destiny, which has been played by over 80 million people, with several million playing each day. You might be as shocked as I was to learn the electronic gaming industry now generates about three times more revenue than the music and film industries combined, with teams as large as 2000 working on a single title.

One way or another, throughout his career, Rob has always found himself in mentorship roles. And a good mentor is always learning. He describes his job as pure servant leadership, enabling his team to consistently build the best visuals in the industry, year after year.

Over the past five years, he’s helped Bungie, the American video game company, to design an industry-leading “live service content model” for games, making their business not only profitable but

stable due to more consistent player engagement. And last year, his company was acquired by Sony for 3.6 billion in the hopes that Bungie would mentor Sony’s development studios on how they do their business at scale. And so, the teaching continues.

This is my first Parents Weekend as a Delphian parent and not as a Delphian student, and the past few days have been absolutely amazing. We’re so happy to see this program helping our two teenagers. I can definitely relate, on some level, to the pride the parents of these graduates must be feeling today.

Leadership is one of four words on the Delphian logo, as you all know. Graduates, wherever you go you’ll be leaders. I want to talk to you about leadership, and some of the lessons I’ve learned that I hope will help you as leaders. It’s not easy to be a leader today; things are changing rapidly.

1. ROB ADAMS SPEAKING AT COMMENCEMENT 2023

2. ROB ADAMS (FAR LEFT) AT HIS OWN DELPHIAN GRADUATION CEREMONY IN 1991

“You aren’t just students; you’re experts at studying, able to confront and learn any subject quickly.”

President Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” He said that about sixty years ago in Germany, and I think it’s much more true today than it was then. And I really like that quote, “Change is the law of life.”

We all agree that this world needs young, capable, ethical leaders, and Delphian builds leadership potential. As a Delphian graduate, I have the perspective of more than thirty years of professional life, most of it as a leader. I’d like you to think about the points I’m about to share with you. They’ve served me well in that role. I’ll also have some advice for you to consider: always evaluate advice carefully (which is also advice).

I want to honor these young people on my right and left, but it’s not easy. They’ve done much more than simply graduate from high school. What they’ve accomplished is incredible. Delphian students don’t just pass their tests here. They master them.

It’s been a long time since I gave my speech during my graduation in this tent (though I think it was a smaller tent; this one looks a lot nicer). Since then, I’ve used my Delphian education every single day.

For our future leaders, I want to highlight a few ways Delphian’s program gives us the tools and the mindset to do more than just make it. We’ve all had experiences that shaped us in profound ways. I had an apprenticeship in 1990; it was my last year here as a Delphian student.

It was at Viewmaster up in Beaverton. They made artwork for the stereo slide machines popular in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. We were painting the artwork by hand. It was almost the exact same process used by Disney to create their animated feature films, everything from Snow White all the way up to The Little Mermaid. The whole process was insanely complicated and slow. We literally had to draw each frame by hand with pens, use a bunch of machines to copy the drawings onto sheets of plastic film, then we had to paint all the colors using little tiny brushes onto one side. And that was only half the process because we had to do it two times because it was stereoscopic. It was very cumbersome and costly.

But in the back of the room, there was a lady with a computer. And she had a copy of Photoshop. This was 1990, and Photoshop was only a year old. People didn’t really pay her that much attention for that whole year. They’d walk by, maybe ask a question here and there, and crack a few jokes, but they weren’t learning Photoshop. She was the only one doing it. She was trying to figure out how to replicate that entire process digitally in the hope that it could be a little bit cheaper.

A couple of years later, I found out the entire ink and paint department had been shut down. They had hired a brand new team of graphic designers—a smaller, younger, and cheaper team—and everybody had lost their jobs. So advice number one is DON’T ASSUME YOUR JOB WILL ALWAYS BE THERE.

You can’t assume your super-sweet job and entire way of

working won’t suddenly become obsolete from emerging technology. I learned the table can flip while you’re standing on top of it, so to speak.

President Kennedy’s quote about change is so true. Change is accelerating, and industries are being disrupted sometimes faster than the media can even keep up. You’re entering a world of rapid iteration of workflows and unexpected paradigm shifts. So advice number two is ALWAYS BE STUDENTS! TO BE SUCCESSFUL, LEARN AS FAST AS YOU CAN FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIVES.

You may have heard the acronym VUCA to describe our unpredictable world. It stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. You need to know that because our world is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. It makes it harder to make correct decisions. The VUCA world keeps leaders and managers awake at night. Entire business strategies are built around this concept.

Because you live in a world of change, you need to learn new things every day. You need to always be students. You have the tools to do that. Fast, capable learners with the mental agility to anticipate change and react before their peers will adapt and thrive. Your Delphian education gives you this advantage. Use it. Always be students!

After graduating, I immediately saw my Delphian advantage over my peers in the workplace. In college, I got my dream internship at Atari, the video game

ABOVE: THE CLASS OF 2023 ENTERING THE TENT BELOW: HEAD OF SCHOOL TREVOR OTT

company that started it all. At work, I taught myself to animate and do 3D modeling before YouTube or the web even existed (it was only two years before, but still, it was before). The tools were constantly changing, and new technology was upending our industry. Most of us were trying to learn 3D on the job when games were usually made with 2D. Tools, workflows, and entire team structures were changing quickly. People all around me were losing their jobs; it was happening again, they couldn’t adapt fast enough. Experienced employees were being laid off. A lot of them were heroes of mine, and they were gone again—they just weren’t fast enough students. And then it got really bad.

In two short years, the Sony PlayStation came and wiped out the entire US coin-op game industry. Almost all my friends lost their jobs by 1998. Again, the table can flip while you’re standing on top of it. But if you’re constantly learning and adapting to change, it won’t happen to you. Again, you can’t assume your job will always be there, and you also can’t assume your entire industry will always be there either.

You aren’t just students; you’re experts at studying, able to confront and learn any subject quickly. You don’t study to pass tests. No. You study for mastery and application. You’ve spent years honing this ability and mindset. That sets you apart from the crowd.

I can’t overstate the advantage this will give you. I’ve benefited from this for years. Knowledge and the ability to gain knowledge really is power.

AI, or artificial intelligence, is here, and you’ll want to learn everything you can about AI because it changes everything. AI tools are becoming so advanced and pervasive that it’s hard to know which jobs are truly stable and for how long. In my industry, AI art tools are already costing people jobs and changing our workflows right now.

Goldman Sachs estimated that globally 300 million jobs will be impacted by AI and automation. But this doesn’t necessarily equal lost jobs. Many of those impacted will have to change and adapt to work in different ways; AI and automation will also create jobs we haven’t anticipated yet. Changes from AI will continue to be swift and unexpected. The truth is nobody really knows what’s coming.

These are uncertain times, filled with change. Change is the law of life. So remember advice number two: always be students–for the rest of your lives.

My next advice is, BE A MENTOR TO AS MANY

PEOPLE AS YOU CAN. I was never given this advice, and it took me a long time to learn the importance of this, much longer than I would wish.

Use your advantage to help others. As master students, you can be excellent mentors, especially in rapidly changing, uncertain times. Paths are forged by curious, keen, and fearless minds. As true mentors, we must lift our students up onto our shoulders. Progress is made this way when our students surpass us and carry the torch upward. We have to train our students to be better than we are. It’s a hard concept to get when you’re young, and I wish I’d gotten it when I was younger. So my advice is, I URGE YOU TO EMBRACE SERVANT LEADERSHIP AT AN EARLY AGE.

Servant leadership is a leadership style that prioritizes the growth, well-being, and empowerment of your team. I hope you lean into this and discover its rewards.

Civil rights leader and non-violence advocate Mahatma Gandhi said, “We must listen before we can learn. We must learn before we can prepare. We must prepare before we can serve. We must serve before we can lead.”

Someone else said, “The greatness of a person is not in how much wealth he acquires but in his integrity and in his ability to affect those around him positively.” That was from musician and peace activist Bob Marley.

For too much of my career, I thought being a good leader was getting amazing results by setting a vision and telling everybody exactly what to do. I did that for a long time, and we did get amazing results. Don’t be like that. Don’t do that. It pains me to look back and know I could have done more to serve my teams and enable their success. I wish I’d embraced this idea earlier, and I hope this resonates with you today. My advice is, AS LEADERS, CREATE A FAIL-FORWARD CULTURE.

Part of the Delphian School’s magic formula is being given the space to fail forward. You make mistakes and learn from them. Delphian was designed to include constructive failure as part of learning. As leaders, give your teams the space to fail. They might not get the quick results you imagined, but they’ll grow empowered, courageous, and ready for the next round. This opens the door to breakthrough innovation. This is how you’ll foster progress.

When the SpaceX test rocket exploded over Texas

“We’re making the hard decision to trade precious, irreplaceable time with our growing kids so that they can have this. A life of choices. A life of opportunities. A life that is theirs.”

about a month ago, the team cheered; that wasn’t staged. They were unafraid of failure because their leadership created a culture where failing forward is part of success. Create this for your teams, and great things will come.

I want to hit pause for a moment and talk about the parents of these graduates (I didn’t want to leave this to the end).

As a Delphian boarding student, I saw some of the more obvious sacrifices my parents made so I could be here. I remember them refinancing the house two separate times. It was harder to see the emotional challenges for them to have me away for so much of the year. As a parent of two teen Delphian students, I get it now. It’s hard, and we’ve only gotten through our first year with our kids.

We’re making the hard decision to trade precious, irreplaceable time with our growing kids so that they can have this. A life of choices. A life of opportunities. A life that is theirs.

We all know it’s the right thing to do. For every graduate on the stage, there’s a group of loving family and friends supporting them from afar or near. Let’s acknowledge the parents and supporters of these graduates who’ve done so much and given up so much out of love for these students.

Back to advice for you to consider: this place will always be in your hearts and souls. I advise you to KEEP IN

TOUCH WITH THE DELPHIAN SCHOOL

because you’ll see how the school stays with you. Alumni like to joke about our recurring “Delphian dreams.” I still get them a couple of times a month. Alumni in the audience know exactly what I’m talking about. The dreams are usually comical and absurd; we often dream we’re back here for “that one course we didn’t finish.” We dream about locking ourselves out of our rooms or sprinting up the stairs to the fourth floor, seconds late for roll call. They used to not have the carpet on the fourth floor, and we used to slide across the floor to our chairs; some people remember that I’m sure. Classic moments from our time here.

Keep in touch because this will always be your second home where you’ll be welcome, a magic place to reconnect with old friends. Stay connected to alumni. We have a whole weekend dedicated to partying with your friends here and sharing stories of your adventures. Stay in touch with your mentors here, especially your supervisors and faculty advisors.

One of the best experiences for them is when we come back and tell them how we’re doing. One of the most rewarding times I’ve ever had was when I came back to give a talk to the students; I think this was about six or seven years ago. I had lunch with my Form 7 and 8 supervisor Frank Gravitt, who’s basically a complete legend at this point. At one point, he scooted back in

his chair, looked at me, and said, “You’re doing great.” It gives me chills, and I’m going to try not to cry just thinking about it.

Please give back and help the school in any way you can. It feels amazing. It feels especially amazing to give back to this place that helped me so much. Especially knowing how much the school is helping others like you because you, graduates, are our best chance at changing the world for the better.

The happy people I’ve met were the ones who help others. Don’t trade the precious hours of your life for money. When people chase money, it twists their priorities in ways that are hard to undo. Don’t settle. If you have yet to find your passionate way to help others, keep looking until you do. And you’ll definitely know when you’ve found it. There’s so much joy to be had. A passionate life of leadership and service is a life lived.

My advice is to MAKE AND MAINTAIN REAL CONNECTIONS. We’re here to connect with others, even if it is sometimes harder to do in a world with so many ways to connect artificially. I think you’re the generation that takes digital detoxing to the next level. I hope you reject these carefully built traps designed by addiction specialists and embrace more genuine connections with real human beings.

The more you connect with others, the more you can bring about real changes. Here in the United States especially, civil discourse is dying. Rather than engaging in healthy debate to reach common ground, some Americans find it easier to put on a red or blue jersey, yell at the other team, and ignore any facts that are misaligned with entrenched tribal views.

We need more critical thinkers with calm, logical voices who can look at all sides of an issue or problem. We need people who can evaluate and build informed opinions. And we need these people to lead others to do the same. The world needs you now more than ever, graduates.

My final advice is to HAVE THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE WORLD. Courage isn’t some special state of mind. Courage is doing the thing that scares you. So be courageous and do disrupt the status quo. Challenge your leaders. When you believe in yourself, stand up and disagree with leadership, especially when no one else does. This is what good leaders want!

They want to be challenged by smart people who share the overall vision but not necessarily how we get there. If your organization doesn’t cherish this as a core value, move on.

Experienced leaders all have blind spots. At my company, we try to hire constructive agitators who’ll learn quickly, then find ways to improve or help revolutionize our established, entrenched ways of doing things. These people never stop being students, and

they’re incredibly valuable.

You can do it with your expert reasoning skills, integrity, ethics, and the ability to communicate clearly. You are incredibly valuable to any group and to our society.

The journey you graduates have traveled hasn’t been easy or short. The Delphian program is challenging but rewarding. Every graduate on this stage has invested thousands of hours, and there’s also the untold time invested by peers, the unquantifiable support of this dedicated staff, and of course, their families. It’s awe-inspiring to witness this collective accomplishment here today.

On stage right now, we’re looking at

nothing less than the potential to alter our world for the better. I am more than honored to be part of the launch team sending them out. Please join me in acknowledging them. Thanks for your time today. I wish you, the class of 2023, many great adventures ahead. Remember to always be learning. Thank you!

Experience Commencement

2023 for yourself.

Watch the recording using this QR code.

CLASS OF 2023

Brianna Solomon

San Jose, California

When I first came to this school, it was a new, scary environment. I really wanted everyone to like me. I did everything I could to make the people around me happy. But it was too much and I went too far with it.

I came to believe I was not important. I worried only about what others thought and never stopped to ask myself what I thought. I often gave up my own comfort for the comfort of those around me. People came to know me as the nice shy girl who didn’t talk much, and as time went on I sank deeper and deeper into this new personality of mine. It became who I was, but I was no longer happy with who I was. I no longer had any confidence. I no longer had any motivation. And I no longer saw beauty in the things I was surrounded by. I was trapped.

It took me time, but eventually I realized everything I was going through and everything I was feeling was simply something I had created in my mind as a barrier for myself.

India Goodman

Georgetown, Barbados

The Delphian Program is very unique. It teaches you how to study, how to think for yourself, how to be a leader, and how to be responsible for your own life. These valuable life skills aren’t commonly taught in high school.

I will never forget all of the life lessons, all of the memories, and all of the challenges that I was faced with during my time here. As I went through the program, I began to see just how capable a person I am. I started to improve my life in many ways. I started to reach my goals, and I started to plan for my future.

Delphian gave me the tools to succeed in life and surrounded me with people who wanted to see me do it. I will be forever grateful for the experience I had here.

When I realized this, I was no longer trapped. This is because I had become causative toward my life. I finally looked outward into the world and found things I liked and things I found to be important to me. I took the time to ask myself what I thought about what was around me.

I began to see the beauty in my environment again. Colors really did seem brighter, and I was finally happy. This school has allowed me to grow in more ways than I could have ever imagined. I have changed a lot during my time here. I wouldn’t do a single thing differently because everything I did led me to becoming the person I am today.

During my time at Delphian, I have seen hundreds of graduates commence, say their speeches and their goodbyes—graduates proud of who they have become. I’ve seen artist after artist graduate in particular. I noticed that many people can easily relate to the artist’s mind and the artist’s touch. I always admired those speeches because I was inspired to broaden my view of what beauty truly is, and how it can be interpreted in all different ways.

I knew that to become a graduate, as they did, I was going to have to focus the entirety of my being, and push everything else aside. I realized the more I physically pushed myself, the more any other noise and distraction melted away to reveal a direct path to get the work I needed to get done, done. I am not an artist. I am an athlete. I went through the Delphian program just the same and am proud of who I have become.

At 12 years old, I was running five miles daily and slowly finding myself in the sport of track and field. I am grateful to Colin Koenig, a Delphian alum, for inspiring and seeing potential in me to run track at such a young age. He helped me put on my first pair of spikes and I haven’t looked back since. I am now a two-time state champion who is going on to be the first Delphian student to attend college on a full-ride track scholarship. I will forever be grateful.

We have the tools, but the next experiments and opportunities are up to us to create. On Form 7, I worked with Marty to get the tools for an experiment. Then I went on to genetically engineer jellyfish DNA to make it glow. Over the years, I have taught myself sign language and Braille as well, serving as a more direct way of helping others. Now the door to job opportunities and college offers has opened up because of these opportunities I created from the Delphian tools for learning independently.

Other people will always have opinions, pressures, and attempted influences about what they think you should work on and pursue. My advice to you is to pursue what you know you’re meant to pursue when no one is watching.

It’s been a long journey to get here. I’ve seen how much I’ve changed from when I first arrived. When I started at Delphian, studying wasn’t on my list of things that were fun. If I had a chance not to study, I would take it.

But as I went through the Delphian program, I learned to use discipline during my studies, and those courses that seemed confusing and boring became interesting and fun. I now study for the purpose of having a better understanding of this world instead of for the grades.

I’ve worked very hard, especially towards the end, to reach this point. All the hard work finally paid off, and it’s because of that hard work that I am able to stand here today. During my time at Delphian, I learned the importance of responsibility and time management and how they will help me in the future. I’ve also improved my communication skills and the ability to talk to other people with confidence.

I learned that the scariest thing is not failure, but accepting your current state and being unwilling to change. Failure will not chase you around, yet it won’t vanish either. Let failure become your friend, for it is through facing our failures that we discover the beauty of success.

Portia Binford

Anchorage, Alaska Evans Bi

Shanghai, China

Chansuk

Before Delphian, my outlook on education was to get good grades. I still remember staring at a blackboard, not understanding anything, as my Thai teachers taught my class. My mindset throughout my Thai education was, “How can I remember this data so that I can pass the test?” My only purpose for education during that time was to get “good grades.” Within that system, I was taught that good grades were the only thing that would make me successful in life. So I dedicated myself to do anything to achieve that goal and that even included cheating.

But Delphian helped me change that mindset. My entire outlook on education changed with one simple thing: the approach to examinations. I thought Delphian was going to have the same system of testing. I thought I would have to take exams with my whole class, being tested on every subject in one day, and having grades be the evaluation of my intelligence. I was wrong. And I was shocked when I found out that there was no number to determine my intelligence. I was shocked when the examiner passed my first exam after I did a brief review of what I had missed. Then I realized that the most important thing in my education at Delphian was my understanding and application of what I’d learned. This realization totally changed my outlook and approach toward my entire education.

I’m no longer afraid to learn. Instead, I’m eager to learn new things and to see what information I can gain and use in my life. Thank you, Delphian!

My life at Delphian has been a great experience. I grew up in this environment mentally and physically. I turned into the person I am today because of the Delphian School. Starting the high school program, I was very scared of confronting my environment and confronting people I didn’t know. Throughout my time on this program, my largest barrier was being able to confront. This led to immense procrastination. I let this get in the way of almost everything that needed to be completed. I felt trapped beneath my limited control of the environment.

In the later years of the Delphian program, I knew finishing Form 8 would be impossible with procrastination and lack of confront. Form 8 was a beautiful form, but nothing was easy or simple on it. With this conclusion, I made it my mission to take control of my life. I learned the ability to complete every task as it was presented. I learned the art of self-control slowly, but by the last week of Form 8, I was able to complete what would have taken me months before.

Satcher Nu

Washington, D.C.

When I first came to Delphian, I was extremely ungrateful for the opportunity I was being given. My mother worked very very hard to give me the best education, yet I wasn’t working as hard as I could in school. I wasn’t interested in anything except basketball. I would spend countless hours in the gym. My love for basketball grew greater as my time here went on. Basketball taught me how to work hard, be disciplined, communicate with others, and be a better leader. Basketball not only made me a better person, but it also changed my perspective on Delphian. I started opening up to people and started being more involved with the student body. As days went on, Delphian started to feel like home.

This place has been my home for the last five years but I’m ready to move on and really start my life. Thank you to everyone who has helped me and supported me throughout my journey.

Bow

Songkhla, Thailand

Mila Anderson

Clearwater, Florida

Remy Kugler

Los Angeles, California

Delphian prepares you for the world like no other school. I am leaving here knowing the meaning of ethics, integrity, knowledge, and leadership, and I know how to use them to improve my life. But this was not always the case.

When I first came to this school, I had no sense of integrity, and I would bend to others’ will and do whatever was asked of me, no matter the inconvenience it caused in my life. I was at the effect of my environment. I decided that I would try to skate by under the radar and not be noticed, wrap up high school, and have some fun along the way. I did have some fun, but I did not succeed in skating under the radar and staying out of sight—a fact that I’m very grateful for.

I would get into trouble and try to find reasons not to be in the classroom. I would take on projects to get out of class. I was not fully using the Study Technology that I had learned here. I had no sense of responsibility for my actions, and I created a veneer that everything was going great. Eventually, I had a heart-to-heart talk with my teacher, and she helped me see that there was an alternative to living my life in such a way, being at the effect of my

Saachi Mann

Chicago, Illinois

I saw Delphian for the first time in 2013. I was nine years old, and I was visiting my sister on her Parents Weekend. The power and the energy of the school alone made me curious. Four years later, I found myself unpacking my bags and moving into the middle school dorm, and Delphian has been a home to me ever since.

In my time at Delphian, I grew up. I started taking responsibility for my life. I stopped blaming outside forces for internal conflicts. I started creating my future, and I became happy and at peace with myself.

I don’t know what lies ahead, but I’m ready to find out. I’m ready to face and embrace any situation I find myself in, and to create a good life with the tools I’ve learned—a life that I want to use to help others.

I’m glad to be leaving Delphian with a lifelong home, stable friends, and high levels of leadership, competence, ethics, and integrity. I know I’ll always keep working on these areas, but I’m proud of how far I’ve come. And I’m proud to be the last of my siblings to finish the program—now all four of us can proudly call ourselves Delphian graduates.

environment, not taking responsibility for my actions, and not being true to myself.

So I worked on it. I started fully applying the study technology, became causative over my environment, and assumed responsibility for my actions. The false veneer fell away. I didn’t have to pretend everything was great, because it actually was. I got myself back on track, and I am proud to call myself a Delphian graduate. I am excited to see what comes next.

Robin Stoner

Clearwater, Florida

Through this program I had to do things a lot faster than a student normally would. Despite this, I was still able to achieve high quality products and find interest in the things that I studied. The Form 8 program provided me with courses that gave me skills that I will be able to use in the real world. Some of my favorite courses were Health, Marriage Education, Leadership, and Thinking with the Classical Religions. These courses were able to improve my skills and knowledge that I know I will use in my future.

A part of this program that I found to be very unique was the literature program. It introduced me to entirely new lines of philosophy and perspective that changed the way that I looked at life. Books such as 1984, Democracy in America, and Plato’s Republic gave me a new outlook on life. This is a beautiful part of the program that makes it unique when compared to any other high school.

I could talk about the program and how it has changed my life for days and days. However, this would never communicate the true beauty of the program. It was able to change me as an individual. I increased my abilities, knowledge and responsibility. I feel as though I can go out into the world and conquer anything I put my mind to.

Brandon Garcia

San Francisco, California

I have heard that true hell is when you have finished life and you meet the person that you could have become: the one that makes things go right, the one that is disciplined, the one that is the best you can be.

I can hardly recognize the person that I have become throughout the Delphi program. Each day, project, activity, and step has changed me to who I am today. I find myself not just knowing what the right thing to do is, but also acting on it. I can make things go right. I am disciplined. I am the best that I can be.

While here, I have been hired, fired, promoted, demoted, felt like a genius, felt like an idiot, done some smart things, done some dumb things, been lovesick, and been heartbroken. I went to clubs, even ran one, played sports, was in a play, and sang in the choir.

Elijah Ward Burns, Oregon

When I started at Delphian, I was just a kid who happened to be fortunate enough to earn enough money to pay for Delphian’s tuition. However, I had no idea what changes would occur as a result of my coming here. I wasn’t learning anything in public school, my friends at home were terrible, and I was only passing my classes in order to not get in trouble with my parents. I had no drive to achieve my purpose because I didn’t know I had a purpose. Delphian helped me change all of that.

When I started at Delphian, I looked at the concept of Study Technology as just another “trick” to studying that would make it easier to remember things. However, as I started to go through some of the courses that are offered here, I saw that it wasn’t just a trick—it was a tool. After I saw that, I was able to blast through my courses and work as fast as I wanted to. This was new to me, as in public school I was used to being held back to stay with the slower students in the class. With this newfound freedom, I was able to work as fast as I wanted to while still getting the knowledge and understanding I needed to use that knowledge later.

Even though I’m leaving the school, I know that this won’t be the end of my education and learning. There will always be things to learn, and I now have the tools that I need to learn what I need and then go use it in the world. The school and numerous other factors have helped me to realize what a powerful tool that is and how it can help me change the world.

It felt like time here was speeding up with each thing I did, and so I cherished every second of it. As I look back at my experience at Delphian and forward toward my future, all of these feelings, the good and the bad, are present and act as proof that I have spent my time here well.

Sofia Del Francia

Form 8 was the perfect ending to my Delphian education. Through the courses, projects and books, I found myself developing a stronger sense of leadership and integrity, and I learned more about the world and others.

The books I read taught me about the hardships people have experienced when their rights are revoked and their integrity is tested. I learned that I must always adhere to what I believe is right and never allow others’ viewpoints to become superior to my own. The importance of this was never real to me until I realized that one can never be happy if they are not true to themselves or their beliefs.

Not only did I gain a new perspective through the reading program but also through my courses. On the Leadership course, I gained the ability to truly be in control over myself and my environment. I was shown that I am capable of leading others and bringing about a positive change. Leadership was not the cause of these abilities—it merely unlocked the faculties I already had within me.

On Form 8, I became aware of my capabilities. The power I had became real and I was able to feel confident about my future. My Delphian journey has been truly unforgettable and I am so grateful for the opportunities and growth I’ve experienced.

Alek Simonov

Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russia

When I first arrived at Delphian, I had no idea what to expect. I had heard that the summer program was fun and full of activities, but I quickly realized that it was going to be much more challenging than I had anticipated. The days were long, and the work was intense. However, I was determined to make it through, and I knew that I had to work hard to succeed.

As I progressed through the program and advanced to Form 7, I began to feel overwhelmed. It seemed like an impossible task to graduate with the class of 2023, and I considered giving up. However, I didn’t want to let myself down, and I knew that I had to keep pushing forward. I decided to take on the summer internship program, which was a huge challenge. Nevertheless, I was determined to succeed, and I put in a lot of hard work and effort.

After completing the summer internship program, I felt more confident in my abilities. I had successfully run twelve major activities, and I realized that I could achieve anything I put my mind to. With some encouragement from my parents and support from my teachers, I decided to keep going.

I continued to progress through Form 7, learning valuable lessons along the way.

One of the most important things I learned was that if I push myself and stay focused, anything is possible. I had to work hard and stay motivated, but I knew that it was worth it to achieve my goals. Finally, after much hard work and dedication, I succeeded in achieving my goal, and I felt a great sense of accomplishment. I knew that I had grown and learned a lot during my time at Delphian and that the lessons I had learned would stay with me for the rest of my life.

Clearwater, Florida

Raymon Chawla

New Delhi, India

Delphian has been an awesome experience. Since the first time I came up the hill, I knew this to be the place that I wanted to graduate from. Throughout my journey, I have grown so much. I have seen myself grow up from a person who was not able to make decisions for himself to someone who can lead, be responsible, be trusted, and be able to make things go right. I am so happy to have come here and made memories through various different courses, projects, apprenticeships, and trips.

Each part of the program is created meticulously so as to provide the student with excellent data and to give him the opportunity to apply what he is learning. That is where Delphian differs from other schools. It creates people that are able to actually apply what they learn. It also gives the students the ability to create a program for themselves. I made my program completely tailored to finance and business because that is what I want to do, and Delphian made it possible.

One thing that I will always remember from Delphian is the soccer team. The soccer team at Delphian is like nowhere else. Each member pushes themselves to their absolute limit, and they push others around them. I have seen myself grow the most during soccer season, and I cannot put into words how much soccer has helped me become a more able person.

To me, Delphian is more than just a school. Delphian is the people, the experiences, the opportunities. It is the culmination of all the above, plus much more. To each person, Delphian means something different. To me, it has been an older brother, a father, a mentor, a coach. It has guided me to take the right path and always let me make my own mistakes to then learn from them.

I started here, and now, I have the ability to go anywhere.

Castro Valley, California

My time here at Delphian has been amazing. I’ve been able to grow not only as a student, but also as a person. I came to Delphian for the first time in the summer of 2018 as a scared teen, trying to figure out who I was and who I wanted to be. Throughout my years on the program, I am finally able to say that I figured those things out. There have been several factors in this change.

The entire academic faculty has been one of the most supportive groups I have ever encountered, and I couldn’t have made it without them. The many books and courses that I’ve done over the past few years have been thoughtprovoking, laborious, wonderful, and aggravating, sometimes all at once. With the help of my supervisors and seminar leaders, however, I was able to persevere through it all.

The arts have been part of my life for as long as I can remember, and it was no different here. Being a part of a state-placing choir, working in almost every play during my time here, and doing art with the wonderful people that run the afternoon activities has helped me funnel my creativity into things that I am passionate about. Although they are not my chosen career path, I am very glad to have expanded my abilities and will continue to use the foundation given to me here to improve.

I have gained more confidence and competence than I ever thought possible from the practical program, working countless hours to raise the school and the community to a higher standard of life. These projects have given me the tools to get things done when and how I want them done, despite any challenges that come my way.

I am no longer that scared young teen, but am able to step forward into the world as a confident and able young man, ready to pursue my career, continue my education, and make a life for myself. Thank you, Delphian!

If someone had asked me four years ago what “beautiful” meant to me, my thoughts would have been of physical things such as flowers, sunsets, the ocean, jewelry, or perhaps even good-looking people. But throughout my time at Delphian, my ideas about the word “beautiful” changed.

Before I came to this school, I had no idea what to do with my future. I wasn’t confident or productive. All I cared about was how to effectively hang out with my friends. I didn’t appreciate education. It was just something that I was bad at.

By the time I realized that I should take studying more seriously, I was already behind and my basic education was not in good-enough shape to learn advanced subjects. I felt hopeless because having good grades seemed like the only way to be successful in life, and with the grades I had, there

was no way I was going to be even close to success.

I first came to Delphian in 2019 for summer camp. Immediately, I saw that it was different. I actually understood what I was learning. That was a shock to me. I knew Delphian’s way of teaching could fix my education, so I begged my parents to send me here.

I started with Form 6 Entry which filled the holes in my education. I worked hard for the first time. I woke up early to study and I even got an academic award! This was such a big change for me, as I had never worked hard to achieve something in my life.

On Form 6, I saw even bigger changes in myself. The program gave me opportunities to do many projects. These were hard and challenging and often seemed impossible. But I found myself as a more competent and capable person. I was even able to find my career interest, which is something that I always worried about discovering.

On Form 7, I was able to tackle subjects that I had been afraid of. I saw that I am capable of learning anything. This is the power that Delphian gave me as an individual and I’ve never felt more confident about my education.

With all this, I finally felt like I was actually living. I was glad to be alive, experiencing new things and learning. With Delphian’s education, I see a bigger world because I know more about the world. As I felt more confident and capable, my thoughts about what is beautiful changed.

Now they include life, people, teamwork, education, and the experience that comes with it. I’m extremely thankful to Delphian for showing me the true beauty of life. I will forever cherish and be grateful for this gift. Delphian has helped me grow wings. I don’t know how hard the wind is going to blow against me, but I’m excited to fly.

Natalia Goodman

Georgetown, Barbados

This school has shaped me into a person I love and admire. I became a person with responsibility, integrity, knowledge, ethics and leadership—a person in charge of her life and with strong communication skills. The program is truly beautiful, and I learned so much from every single course, book, seminar and project I have done. I met amazing people and friends that I will have for life. I also made unforgettable memories that I will cherish forever. The faculty here are also truly amazing, and I would not have had these wins if it weren’t for them.

Suha Jung

Busan, South Korea

Mujahed Abulohoum Sana, Yemen

Rowan Bennett Sheridan, Oregon

For most of my life, I had no idea what I was going to do after high school. I had answers prepared when I was asked the inevitable, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” but none of them were true.

I had areas of interest, but none of them sounded like careers. I got stressed about picking a career. I thought that I had to have one idea locked in and pursue only that, or I was going to fail.

People constantly told me that everyone ends up in a different career than what they were originally pursuing. This worried me even more. Even if I spent years preparing, it would all go to waste.

Delphian is more than just a high school. It’s a home, a family, and it has a sense of magic to it. As they say, all good things must come to an end, and it’s a bittersweet experience to say goodbye to this magical place.

The book Siddhartha talks about the different kinds of people: “Most people are like a falling leaf, which is blown and is turning around through the air, and wavers, and tumbles to the ground. But others, a few, are like stars—they go on a fixed course; no wind reaches them. In themselves they have their law and their course.”

Throughout the course of my Delphian journey, I was like that falling leaf. I only wanted to play soccer and do nothing else. During the soccer season, I would have fun and enjoy school. When the season was over, I would get into trouble and would want to leave the school many times.

The soccer season of my senior year was the part of Delphian that shaped me the most. I became the soccer captain, and I was given the responsibility to lead a group of athletes to work together and play as one. We went on to become undefeated in our league and defeated Dayton in the district championship. Now I was becoming a bit more like the stars.

We made it to the second round of the state championships, and that’s where the season ended. I faced many challenges and again wanted to leave the school. I went on winter break, and when I came back, I had a talk with my supervisor. We talked about how I would be able to graduate if only I would use the same amount of dedication that I had for soccer in my studies. I thought about it that night and doubted my ability to get it all done.

I then studied intensely every day and night for months. I finished an amount that some people would say is impossible. Now I am one of the shooting stars that Delphian produces, and I’m going on a fixed course to success.

Towards the end of my time at Delphian, all of my worries disappeared. I realized that I did not need a set career path. I did not need to spend years preparing for a specific field. I would not fail if my career path changed. Delphian had given me the tools to be competent in anything that I put my mind to. I attribute this ability to the Study Technology developed by L. Ron Hubbard that we use at Delphian.

If I want to become a software engineer, I have the tools to be successful at that. Even if I changed my mind the next year and decided to become a farmer, I would be able to. This versatility is the most valuable thing that I’ve gained from Delphian and the Study Technology. It gave me so much freedom, and it gave me confidence in myself. No other school could prepare you in the same way.

Joseph Gentile

Manhasset, New York

In 2019, my brother James and my sister Chiara graduated, and I was in awe of the people they had become. Since then I have been inspired to become what they have become: a Delphian graduate. But I couldn’t imagine myself graduating because it was so far away and I was nowhere near having the qualities of a graduate.

In my first two years in Upper School, I failed the most. I did not work a lot and I thought that I would just work hard later. I always wanted to be this industrious individual, but I just couldn’t confront what was ahead of me.

I had a lot of work so eventually I started to confront my studies. I made good progress, and my morale started to increase, but I did not work hard enough.

When senior year began, I started working very hard, but I was focusing on my academics and neglecting everything else. This was a horrible approach, although it was during that time that I found true enjoyment in studying. I was making the most academic progress I ever had and I was happy about that, but I could not confront Student Council, which is a big part of Delphian’s practical program. All I wanted to do was study and graduate. I was letting the goal of my younger self down, which was to become a true Delphian graduate. I started to lose the meaning of what that meant.

This all caught up to me until I worked with two great supervisors who helped bring me back to the right purpose of being here at Delphian. I made a list of the qualities I wanted to have by the time I graduated, such as industriousness, integrity, ethics and responsibility. My goal of being a true Delphian graduate returned. Now I had to work on myself and become the person I desired.

I continued to work hard on my program and on myself. I now had this feeling of happiness that I never had before. Many months later I found the list of qualities I wanted to have. When I looked at it I saw that I now possessed all these qualities. I was now causative toward my life. I stopped being unethical and I had integrity.

Graduation has now come, and I can now tell my younger self that I have truly become the Delphian graduate

ALUMNI NEWS

Congratulations to alumni Erica Rodgers (2014) and Nick Koenig (2016) on their engagement on June 25, 2023.

Congratulations to

(2019) on her graduation summa cum laude from Southern Oregon University’s Honors College and Oregon Center for the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Performance and Dramatic Arts.

Congratulations to alumna Chiara Gentile (2019) on her graduation with honors from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Television. She plans to pursue a job at a production studio based in New York.

Congratulations to alumnus Max Martinez on his graduation from Universidad Autónoma de Baja California with a bachelor’s degree in International Business. Max is currently interning with Samsung in the planning department, coordinating with production, logistics, tax, customs and different shipping companies to gather and generate documents and requirements necessary for all shipments to Latin America.

Congratulations to alumnus Timson Lee (2018) on his graduation from Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a triple concentration in Finance, Management and Entrepreneurship & Innovation. He founded a quantitative trading strategy company in 2021, which he will continue to expand even as he pursues his Master of Science in Enterprise Risk Management at Columbia University beginning this fall.

Congratulations to alumnus Luca Marrazzo (2019) on his graduation from Whittier College with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. Luca is a four-year letter winner and Dean’s List student. He plans to work in the field of education and has accepted a job offer at Delphi Academy of Florida.

Congratulations to alumna Alba Arguello (2019) on her graduation from McGill University with a Bachelor of Arts in International Development Studies, Minor in Social Entrepreneurship.

alumna Siena Schofield

Do you have news?

We love to hear from our alumni! Let us know what you are up to. Email our editor at magazine@delphian.org or message us on social media to be published in the next issue.

FORM COMPLETIONS

Listed in order of completion date since last Delphian Magazine

Form 1 Entry

Emrys Savejs

Form 1

Skye Marlatt-Calderon

Form 3

OceanLee Hamilton

Form 5

Dawn Robinson

Blythe Kathrein

Upper School

International Entry

Karyme Inoue Cervantes

Kostya Dronov

Isaac Liu

Neo Shu

Brunella Plascencia Navarro

Form 6 Entry

Victoria Guajardo

Mackenzie Reeves

Amy Guy

Chenoa Lopez Diaz

Allahta Persons

Jackson Paden

Engai Urizarbarrena Frias

Tai Jefford

Lia Adams

Mara Urizarbarrena Frias

Boston Brown

Form 6

Memo Cervantes Corral

Grace Suplee

London Schofield

Tom Kalman

Rikki Suzuki

Thales Gao

Form 7

Mujahed Abulohoum

Joseph Gentile

Suha Jung

Satcher Nu

Congratulations to alumnus Jake Kugler (2019) on his graduation from Chapman University with a Bachelor of Arts in Strategic and Corporate Communication.

Congratulations to alumna Savannah Oliver (2014) on her graduation magna cum laude from Creighton University School of Dentistry with a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. Savannah was part of only 10% of her class that was nominated for and received membership in Omicron Kappa Upsilon, a national dental honors society that values professionalism, patient care and class rank.