Class of 2024

Cayden Chen

Dallas, Texas

Attending Delphian has been the most incredible journey. Throughout my time here, I have developed countless new skills, had the incredible opportunity to lead diverse groups as Student Council President, and pursued an education of my own design. Delphian is a truly special place that I will never forget.

This program forced me to constantly step out of my comfort zone in pursuit of new games and greater challenges. There is no other school on the planet that values the individual and their success more than Delphian. This continual goal, my pursuit of success and knowledge, has defined the person I am today–had it not been for my student council positions, projects, and internships and the freedom I had to create myself, I could not even imagine what I would be like.

My pursuit of new opportunities–made possible by this school–opened my eyes to new perspectives that I hadn’t considered before: the perspectives of a leader on the student council, a debater, a summer intern, and countless others. Each role taught me lessons that have influenced every part of my life. As president of the Student Council, I learned how to lead and had the privilege of working with and for some incredibly unique and talented individuals. As a summer intern, I learned to take care of children and become a mentor. As a senior, I began to understand what it means to be a Delphian graduate, and today, I get to say I am one. Each of these has changed the way I look at the world for the better; I can truly say I’ve become a more compassionate and kind person as a result.

As I entered my senior year at Delphian, I began to realize that this school is only the beginning–that no matter how beautiful and special it is, I am only just starting out in life. However, I speak for all my fellow graduates when I say this: there is no better place to begin life than at Delphian. This school didn’t just teach me things; it made me the person I hoped I could be four years ago when I first arrived.

I’ve realized that the world and games outside of this school are vast, but with my experience and education here, I know I’m ready not only to survive but to win.

Adison Ackley

Orange County, California

Delphian is unlike any other school. Nowhere else are you held accountable for your education and able to determine your course of study based on your goals or interests. 

I started at Delphian six years ago with no idea what I wanted to do in life other than that I wanted to make art. Delphian was able to help me determine what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be. It provided me with some truly amazing skills to achieve this. 

I no longer fear the world outside of Delphian. It is everything I have spent the last six years preparing for. I am confident in my ability to face any situation I encounter with knowledge, ethics, leadership, and integrity. There is no place in the world where I would rather have received my education than Delphian.

Pennelope Arezzini

Lake Oswego, Oregon

I have always believed that magic is real. Like most divine things, however, it cannot be simply looked upon. It has to be felt. Upon arrival to Delphian, I had many goals and plans for my future, but I did not have the courage or, I had thought, the qualities to make them real. Now, I have discovered that I do have these qualities and I can make anything happen that I want to and I can create any effect. Delphian opened my eyes to the magic that is in my own environment, and within myself.

There is truly no place better set up for individuals to grow, try, thrive, win, create, and, of course, call home. One could consider the Delphian program the best possible training for facing a society of adversity or mediocrity. The logo points of ethics, integrity, knowledge and leadership are my armor for living in this world and in accomplishing peaceful revolutions.

Through the Art Seminar and the literature and practical programs, I’ve come to realize that perfection is not some tangible thing that one achieves through doing something. Instead, it’s a beingness. It lies dormant within you and does not become available until you can realize it for yourself. This concept of perfection as a beingness, as well as the gifts this place grants to one, became especially apparent to me towards the end of my journey when I was studying the classical religions. In the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach wrote, “You will begin to touch heaven, Jonathan, in the moment that you touch perfect speed. And that isn’t flying a thousand miles an hour, or a million, or flying at the speed of light. Because a number is a limit, and perfection doesn’t have limits. Perfect speed, my son, is being there.” The only limits I have are ones that I created for myself. My spirit and capabilities are as boundless and free as I allow them to be. To me, that is magic.

Now, more than ever, colors are brighter. Art, love, perfection and magic are abundant in everyone and everything. Decide to see that, and you will. After four beautiful years here, I have resolved any doubts, confusions, or uncertainties in my capabilities as well as in myself. The road ahead is not only one I’m going to traverse, but one I am going to create.

Mia Solomon

San Jose, California

When I first came to Delphian, I was scared. I was scared of the new environment, scared of my classmates and my supervisors, and most of all, I was scared to be myself. However, the staff and students at Delphian welcomed me to this wonderful school with open arms. At the time, I didn’t recognize this gesture. I was too wrapped up in myself to realize that this would be the most life-changing chapter of my life.

In this school, you’re set up on a high-speed, jampacked course of constant challenges and barriers you are expected to master and overcome. When I first came here, I wasn’t in control of this course and was constantly affected by my emotions. I was scared to speak my mind and direct others. But with each project I finished and each student council position I took on, these fears started fading away.

Toward the end of Form 6, I realized that the only thing stopping me from doing anything was myself. It was never the hard math course, the daunting project, or the jam-packed schedule; it was always me. Once I realized that I could be at cause and have responsibility over anything, all of my apprehensions turned into things I could take action over and overcome.

Thank you, Delphian, for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I will be forever grateful for what I have learned and experienced here.

Omar Wang

Shanghai, China

When I first came to Delphian, I felt this was a magical place. I learned about things that I had never heard of, such as ethics and morals, communication skills, and the Study Technology. This special education system that is applied here makes it look like Hogwarts in real life.

I spent five years studying all of this magic and gradually found that a lot of it started to make sense to me. I learned how to make an administrative scale and use it to plan a successful activity. I knew what to do if I felt tired during studying. I also understood how to collect information and evaluate it to solve a real-life problem.

Challenges were always by my side during my life at Delphian. There was a great possibility that I might not graduate in the class of 2024. I felt very nervous and asked my supervisor Cris if he thought I could graduate in 2024. He told me that it was almost impossible, but people do make impossible things happen. Cris’s words granted me hope, and I am forever grateful for that.

Clementine Suplee

Los Angeles, California

From the first moment I heard about Delphian, I could tell it was different, and I knew I belonged here.

My early years at Delphian are somewhat incomparable to my later years. Those were the times when I would spend two months on one study step, engage in meaningless drama with friends, and stand defiant, refusing to see any viewpoint but my own.

On Form 6 I read Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, which deeply influenced me. The main character, Ender, was playing a game in every respect. I realized my life could be the same. However big or small, I began to treat each aspect of my life as a game. Freedom came to me when I saw that I could win, and all it took was one decision.

Success did not come my way when I let things happen to me. Success came my way when I learned how to try again, to try better, after I had failed. The happiest I have ever been is when I have found my responsibility in something, and Delphian has shown me how to do that.

Delphian has not instilled responsibility, determinism, integrity, and leadership in me. Instead, it brought out and nurtured, fine-tuned, and polished these inherent qualities. The best thing about my education at Delphian was being able to learn how to formulate ideas and become a powerful, self-determined individual, all in a safe environment.

Once I found this new viewpoint of responsibility, I was able to win. From things as simple as doing seven steps in one day to as complex as running a record-breaking telethon, I have used these skills to succeed.

In the book Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, two types of people are described, “Most people...are like a falling leaf that drifts and turns in the air, flutters, and falls to the ground. But a few others are like stars which travel one defined path: no wind reaches them, they have within themselves their guide and path.”

At Delphian, I have grown to be like the latter: I am a shooting star on a fixed course where no wind reaches me. In myself, I have my guide and my path.

Delphian is a family full of so much love, and there is a touch of magic everywhere you look. I have grown up here for the past nine years, and I know this is a place I can always call home.

Aura Valliere

Los Angeles, California

How do I put into words all that I’ve been through, all that I’ve struggled through, all that I’ve smiled through to reach this one singular moment?

The short answer is I can’t, but I learned that’s okay. I don’t have to fit it all in, describe this feeling I can’t put into words, or share some profound realization; it’s enough that I did it. 

That being said, this is a success story, so it’s only fitting I tell some of what I’ve had to go through to get to this point. I’ve dealt with social anxiety, excessive stress, not feeling good enough, imposter syndrome, needing to be liked, and more. There was even a time when I thought I’d never deserve to graduate. But now, I barely recognize the person who first held that viewpoint.

I’ve grown thanks to this school and the people here. I’ve learned the only way to achieve the impossible and overcome my problems is to decide it is possible and push through with resilience and determination. I now have the ability to change anything that is going wrong in my life, and I am confident that no matter what happens from this point forward, I will be fine because I know the moment I feel like I’m not, I can turn things around. I’m now ready for whatever the future throws at me.

Samantha Bunch

Orange County, California

When people asked me about my future and what I wanted to be, I had no idea what to say. If I thought of anything, it was a job. I wanted to be an architect or an artist or some other random thing I would say to get them to stop asking me. 

I never had set goals or ideas that stood out to me or successes that I thought were worth mentioning. I put so much attention on the titles and physical gains in life that I became lost and very confused. 

Through the Delphi program, I started thinking about the simple aspect of being and specific characteristics that I wanted to embody. Whether it was my constantly changing plan, talks about my future, or watching many other graduates progress through this program and give their speeches, I was able to piece together that I didn’t want a job to fit as a description of my future and me, but rather my virtues to shine through and show others what I would be innately capable of, so they wouldn’t even have to ask what I wanted to do, they just knew that it would be something good. 

Now, I think I have reached that point where, without having a specific path, I am still shooting like a star to the destination I am meant to be at.

Imogen Dayton

Los Angeles, California

The last book you read at Delphian is called Jonathan Livingston Seagull. In the book, Jonathan is learning to fly, and his teacher says this to him: “To fly as fast as thought, to anywhere that is, you must begin by knowing that you have already arrived.”

When I came to Delphian ten years ago, I would never have understood what this meant. But as a Delphian graduate, I do, and it’s because Delphian gave me the greatest gift: the gift of me. Let me take you on the journey I went on.

Since I could hold a crayon or marker in my hand, I have created art. I drew, painted, played the piano, and

made up stories in my head. People told me I was good at art, but I never considered myself an artist. I thought being an artist was not worthwhile, and that art wasn’t necessary to anyone.

When I was fourteen I met my two best friends, who were truly artists. They didn’t just live life; they loved it, and when I was with them, I felt completely myself. But then they graduated, and I reverted to my indifference towards art.

Then, in my senior year, I took the Art Seminar. Through this seminar, every reason I had for why I couldn’t or wouldn’t be an artist was knocked down. I came to the realization that I was unknowingly surrounding myself with artists. Then I knew, I am an artist.

Delphian gave me this gift, and with this, it gave me myself. I could be completely myself and in harmony with the world around me – in the ever-flowing river of life, to be the captain of my ship and the only one who can say where it is going.

How lucky I am to have been gifted Delphian. And now a new ship is sailing to a distant horizon, and I am ready to board it. I am ready to fly as fast as thought to anywhere I choose, and I now know that I really have already arrived.

Silas Gottlieb

Hoboken, New Jersey

I started this school five years ago in a metaphorical cave. Around me was darkness and a confused idea of the Delphian logo’s four points. It was a game to me to see how many rules I could break and get away with. Unbeknownst to me was a brilliant, beautiful sun awaiting me outside this cave.

I saw other, older students in this cave as well. I then saw them reach the light of graduation. They left this cave, but I never thought I could do it myself.

I eventually did see the light, but it wasn’t through words or demonstrations. It was bringing up an art piece to my teacher. It was the late nights studying with my friends. It was talking in the ethics advisor’s office. It was running The Way to Happiness Club. It was viewing the world as an artist in the Art Seminar. It was staring into the river with Siddhartha. And it was learning perfect speed with Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

I finally saw and understood the light of Delphian. I left the darkness of the cave and the persona of a rule breaker behind. I have come to understand myself.

Ashley Arruda

Boston, Massachusetts

I saw it as a loss when I first came to this school. I was moving away from my friends and the city I had grown up in. Although excited about the change, I was also scared of a new environment and starting over. At the time, I had no idea how much I would value my time here.

Delphian has amazing educational opportunities. You get to read books that transport you to other worlds, learn how to learn, and form your own opinions about historical events and how they relate to today. I value all of my education here greatly, but my favorite part about Delphian is the practical program, where you get to do a wide variety of projects.

In Willamina, there is a relief nursery called A Family Place. Children aged eighteen months to five years old have the opportunity to go here despite their various challenging circumstances. When I heard about this place, I immediately wanted to do my career interest apprenticeship there. I was told that I might find it more challenging than usual since I would be the only person doing a project there at the time. I was nervous but excited.

This project changed me entirely. It was one of the clearest times I could see a direct impact of my services to others. I watched the children there grow, learn, and push past boundaries they had been told were impossible. The teachers there supported and encouraged me. They helped me see that I was capable and should trust in my capabilities with children. I had always been scared of messing up, they showed me that even if I did something wrong, my overall effect was positive. I am forever grateful to the staff and children there.

Since my freshman year, I have also been helping at Delphian’s early learning center, Serafina. I have had the incredible opportunity to work with and see some of my favorite staff members’ children grow more competent and capable, and I get to know that I helped in that.

Through these experiences and many others, I have seen that coming to this school was an incredible gain, not a loss.

Angelica Wagman

Portland, Oregon

It is difficult to say in words how glad I am that I decided to go to this school. I came to this school as a shy thirteen-year-old girl who couldn’t talk to anyone unless they talked to me first. I hated having to ask people to do a step with me on my course or to help me with a math problem.

In my second year at this school, my teacher told me that he would make me talk to people, even if I didn’t want to. I didn’t think this would help me, but it did. From that point onward, I started to feel more comfortable talking with others. I no longer hated asking people for help on my courses.

After overcoming this problem, I was still faced with another: being a leader.

I had trouble running cleaning crews and was too scared to ask people to do work. When I started making the yearbook, I had a lot of trouble trying to get quotes from staff members and getting the seniors to make their senior pages.

At the start of my senior year, with the help of my supervisors and other staff members I worked with, I realized that I was capable of overcoming this problem. I stopped worrying about if people hated me when I told them to get something done. I stopped caring about whether the people I worked with liked me and started caring more about the end product achieved. I realized that getting people to get work done didn’t harm my relationship with them in any way.

My job as a dorm captain and the Leadership course were my main help with this. After completing these things, I was able to run any group, no matter how big it was.

This school has helped me become the best version of myself. I am now a competent and confident girl who is able to overcome any challenge.

Siona Paden

Reno, Nevada

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach says, “We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill.” I have always believed that we are born with an inherent ability for certain skills, whether it be math or literature. I did not realize that one could alter one’s capabilities by learning how to learn. 

Delphian taught me so much more than simply how to learn. Throughout my journey here, I became a leader, a teammate, an intern, a friend, and so much more. The shy, narrow-minded girl who first set foot on this campus has disappeared, and in her place is a competent and determined individual.

I learned integrity, confront, and, most importantly, self-determinism. I now know that I will face future challenges with an unwavering desire to overcome them and that I have the ability to make things go right.

I owe so much to Delphian, and although, sadly, my journey here is ending, I am equipped with the tools to lead a successful life.

Bruce Liu

Suzhou China

Delphian granted me the education that leads to success. When I first came to Delphian, I didn’t know what I wanted to do in the future. However, my journey through this wonderful school transformed my life to the best possible.

At Delphian, I was encouraged to explore various fields and subjects. Throughout my time here, I achieved various academic successes. I completed advanced courses in biology and calculus, which laid a solid foundation for my higher education. Literature is a huge part of the Delphian program, and I became a competent reader from learning poetry and Plato. These achievements have prepared me well for college and have assisted me to be accepted into my dream university.

I was actively involved in extracurricular activities. I organized an economics seminar, participated in various apprenticeship programs, and successfully held a position in the student council. Through these experiences, I learned responsibility. These practical experiences shaped who I am today. Through the extracurricular activities and projects, I realized healthcare would be what I wanted to pursue.

The school’s unique approach to education changed me significantly, and it influenced me to become a student with integrity, high morals, and capabilities. When I look back and compare myself to years ago, I can say that I’m now a more patient, caring, and capable person, similar to how a tree grows slowly year after year. By the end this tree has grown tall and strong, and I am looking forward to the next step of my journey.

Neal Chinodakufa

Harare,Zimbabwe

My time at Delphian has been amazing. When I first arrived my goals were to make people laugh, have fun, and coast along on my program. It took me some time to realize that these goals were not going to get me anywhere. I waited for the moment when my mindset would switch and I would become a “good student.” I waited and waited but little did I know, that process had been happening right under my nose. I have had the opportunity to learn from the amazing staff and without all of them, I would not be the man I am today. The most important lesson I have learned at Delphian is that it’s never too late to turn things around.

Looking back, I see how much I have grown and how my viewpoints have changed. I am thankful to have gone through the Delphi program and I now have the opportunity to go out and use everything I have learned. Thank you.

William Collins

Sydney, Australia

I came to Delphian with enough energy to blow the roof off a house. Delphian taught me not to suppress this energy but to direct it towards survival goals, and this brought me contentment. I learned here that having good affinity, shared understanding, and communication is fundamental to solving all problems, working with people, and getting products.

At the beginning of my Delphian journey, I was nonconfrontational about handling my problems with others. I sought to please all, but this resulted in my own unhappiness. Here, I learned to deal with my problems head-on with integrity.

Soccer and ceramics are hobbies that are very dear to me, and I want to touch on how these activities have changed and shaped me. As the varsity soccer captain, I learned to lead with kindness and directness. As with any other sport, it required me to perform, but as the captain, it also required getting my teammates to perform. With the Art Seminar’s help, ceramics taught me the beauty of the world. I learned that art is the quality of communication given, and I learned to show how I felt through the pieces I created. I began to see the beauty people bring to this world and how special this game of life is.

This magical place has been my home for four years, and it always will be, but this place is a beginning, not an end in itself. There is no way to communicate my gratitude for this school. I’m leaving with a plan, knowing what I want to do with my life, the confidence to attain my goals, the knowledge to achieve them, and most importantly, a sense of self-worth and peace.

Sam Cloutier

Boston, Massachusetts

I started my Delphian journey at Delphi Boston. They told me about this school and how magical it was. When I eventually came here, I came expecting a magical wonder. Looking back now, it didn’t disappoint. This school has the ability to turn every student into someone who can achieve their dreams.

When I first came to this school, I was a dreamer with many ideas and aspirations, but I didn’t know how to achieve them. Many of these dreams required that I lead a group of people, but whenever I tried, it felt as if the people I was supposed to be leading just trampled over me. I had to seek help from others continually.

I tried and tried again to run projects successfully, but every time, I fell on my face. Then, I started procrastinating and waiting until the last minute, leading to a string of failed projects.

However, my supervisors noticed my struggle and gave me courses and opportunities through smaller projects to improve my leadership and confidence in this area bit by bit. For me, this was the magic of Delphian. By the end of Form 7, I could successfully run a group to complete a goal. I fixed up any holes I had in my abilities.

I first came to this school with big dreams, and now, through the magic of Delphian and all the wise and caring staff, I have gained the skills needed to achieve those dreams. I am leaving Delphian not only as a dreamer but as a doer.

Daphne Anderson

McMinnville, Oregon

When I came to Delphian six years ago, I never imagined myself as a Delphian graduate. I thought I would coast along and I would never make it. Yet Delphian wouldn’t let this happen. If you are in the Delphian program, it ensures you get better at everything you do. It doesn’t allow someone to be mediocre; it demands a person grows with the program.

So I grew. I learned how to do things I never thought I could. I learned how to write well. I learned how to lead a group. I learned how to solve problems and use communication to the best of my ability. In other words, I gained knowledge, integrity, leadership, and ethics.

Having these four points of the logo has changed my life. I am fully in a position of control when I never had been before. I can go out and do things and get them done because I want to, not because someone else is making me.

This was something I was constantly wrestling with when I came to Delphian. I thought I couldn’t cause things in my life. Delphian helped replace that victim viewpoint, and I am all the more able because of it.

The amount of control I have over my life now truly shows what Delphian has done for me. It handed me the tools to make my life however I want it. It allowed me to become the person that can overcome any barrier I run into.

Thank you Delphian and all the staff for allowing me to get these incredible skills that have changed my life.

Hailey Ackley

Orange County, California

I used to cover up my personality, too insecure to be myself or to even know that there was a way I could be. I would come home from school and my parents could slowly see that their young, bright, and outgoing daughter was fading away and becoming the effect of her environment, of words, and of what people wanted her to be. I was slowly stripping away myself in order to make friends and to make others happy. Then I came to Delphian. Through every course, every project, and every book I read, I came to realize that what I deemed as magic and happiness was finally being able to come out of my shell after years of thinking that the world would end if I did. When in fact this allowed my life to actually get started.

Delphian showed me this. I stopped asking myself what other people thought of me and started asking myself what I wanted from this life.

I realized I want to fly like Jonathan Livingston Seagull, create like Michelangelo, cure like Dr. Zhivago, master my life like Dagny, be strong like my brother, be artistic like my sister, and dream like Benjamin Franklin.

The world slowly transformed into something colorful and endless and I realized I had so much to learn from every book and everyone I met. There’s beauty in pushing past the ignorance of thinking that I know everything; I don’t.

Thank you, Delphian, for this transformation.

Sage Daniells

Clearwater, Florida

The word “Delphian” has grown to mean a lot of things for me. It originally started as a boarding school, in the middle of the forest, in Oregon. As I progressed through the program, Delphian meant more to me than just a school. It was becoming more and more a home. It became a place where I strive to achieve the best possible version of myself.

This version of myself was created through living the lives of every character on the Form 8 literature program, through the student council and student outreach, through the courses based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard, and through the practical program.

Founding Headmaster Alan Larson wrote a letter addressing what Delphian expects of a student. He said, “If society were not in such a tailspin, morally, productively, and socially, perhaps we would not feel such an urgent need to produce some leadership to help pull it out. However, it is, and we do. We do a service to no one if we allow students to aspire to grow up and go out and ‘fit in’ to a society that is in a tailspin.” This program saved me from going into that tailspin. It brought me out and gave me the ability to help pull society out of it.

I am certain in my ability to handle any issue, upset or confusion to the highest standard without any bumps, using affinity, shared understanding and communication. I have many chapters of my life ahead of me. Delphian has given me a solid foundation for my success later down the road. It has taught me to be the cause point over all the parts of my life.

I will never forget this beautiful school that has changed my life and turned me into a serene individual. I am ready to venture off into the world and help society get out of a tailspin.

Lia Peens

Ballito, South Africa

I cannot begin to explain the changes that I have experienced while attending this extraordinary school. I feel like a flower bloomed or a caterpillar transformed. This school has brought out abilities in me that just needed a little push, whether this be from a project, a course, or an interaction with a faculty member.

The additions to myself have been unexplainably invaluable. I have done a 180-degree turn in my life. I added self-confidence, integrity, the ability to say no, and so much more to myself. The shy girl who walked into reception four years ago is long gone. She is now a competent individual who can conquer whichever realm of the world she wants. She can communicate and handle problems.

Words cannot explain the degree of knowledge and beauty this school allows you to experience. The courses are designed to help you assimilate the data and use it all. I have learned how to be an executive and a leader here. I got to see inside the human body for a project. I got to feel the love and care that the staff exuded. I got to form lifelong friendships. I have gone through the Delphian program and am now a proud product of it.

Anna Peens

Ballito, South Africa

The way the school allows you to flourish and prosper is unlike any other. Towards the end of the program, this datum never felt more real. They didn’t want me to do it for them. They wanted me to do it for myself.

I didn’t realize that the whole building was like a playground. There were so many things you could do as a type of hobby. Swinging on the monkey bars, going down the slide, sliding down the fire pole, etc. are all things done at a regular playground.

This playground called Delphian has ceramics, advanced art, computer science, choir, sports, and a lot more that students are able to choose from. This building is where all the fun happens, and you decide the fun. If you want, you can only do the monkey bars, but can also do everything the playground has to offer.

I decided to do many things at this playground. Each one of them brought me a step closer to flourishing and prospering. I have learned tools here that I know I would not have learned anywhere else.

Since this playground didn’t force me to do all the things I didn’t like, I could tailor it how I wanted. This made me feel a sense of fun and excitement on the courses I did–the exact feelings you should feel on a playground.

Thank you, Delphian, for giving me the opportunity to flourish and prosper.

Vivi Beauregard

Ballito, South Africa

Before coming here, I was unable to study at my own pace. I had to study for examinations constantly, so I was not able to use the information I had learned. I could never have imagined how incredible a change I was going to have when I came here.

At Delphian, I grew into the person I never knew I could be. I have become a hardworking, self-determined, caring, and competent leader. I have enjoyed all the literature seminars we have here, but the last two have been my favorites. I have learned to find beauty in poetry and art in Plato’s words of wisdom.

I have found the tools and know how to use them. I am now competent and can achieve anything I set my mind to. This school has given me that opportunity.

Here is a quote from the last book you read, Jonathan Livingston Seagull:

“We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can learn to be free! We can learn to fly!”

Through the Delphian program, I found my wings, practiced flying many times, and learned to fly to perfection. I learned that I could become the master of life. I have found art and beauty in everything I have done.

Kinsey Lutton

Orange County, California

My experience at Delphian can be described through many metaphors and similes, but the true essence of it can only be described through one word: enlightenment. I have lived several lives within Delphian’s walls, but they have all led me to become an individual with knowledge, understanding, authenticity, and strength. These qualities formed under the wing of my education and they bloomed once I decided they could.

The capabilities and resources here are endless when you decide how to make use of them. Delphian is the only place where you are asked to fail, succeed, fail, and try again until you have improved. I grew at increasing rates when I realized this one fact, and it would not have been possible without every aspect that makes up Delphian. The environment and care of every individual here have made it a home.

Paige Bruning

Seattle Washington

I used to think that things would come easily to me, that graduation would be a breeze, and that I would suddenly be happy without doing anything. I was wrong. I soon realized that no one else was going to create the life I wanted except for me.

At first, this was difficult to confront. I didn’t like working hard or putting much effort into things. I was afraid of being myself and of making my own decisions. I let others lead me and make decisions for me. I couldn’t do things myself because I had decided I couldn’t.

Delphian helped me realize this wasn’t how I wanted to live. This scared, incapable girl wasn’t me. After realizing this, I shifted my viewpoint from that of a victim of life to someone responsible for herself. This viewpoint was challenging to achieve, but if I learned one thing while at Delphian, it was that good things take work. Good things take hard work, consistent effort, and time.

I like to think of the challenges I face as a difficult hike. There are ups and downs, and it can be easy to get lost, but what counts is that you find your way back onto the right path. You define what that path is. I’ve taken the right path, and I’ve taken the wrong path. I’ve found my way back, learned lessons, and created new paths that didn’t exist before. My viewpoint on what is right and wrong has changed for the better. These challenges in my life have helped me grow into a person I’m proud of.

Like all worthwhile things, the challenges of life are difficult. But they’re something worth struggling for. It’s up to you how quickly you walk, or if you do at all. But in the end, I’m sure you’ll be glad you did.

So far, on my ever-continuing journey of life, I’ve learned that I am capable of success and can enjoy doing what’s difficult. I’ve learned to think for myself, believe in myself, and enjoy being in control of my own path in life. I’m the only one who can create my future, my happiness, and my success. There is no more “I can’t.” Because, actually, I can.