Haise Borgmann, Long Time SEED Champion

Over the 23 years we have been involved with SEED, we have watched it grow from the germ of an idea into a system of public, college-prep boarding schools that span the US from coast to coast. Each year, SEED DC added students, building up to its first graduating class in 2004. As SEED DC sent its students to college, it expanded its commitment to supporting those students as they traveled that path. And, once out of college, SEED supported its students as they searched for jobs and served their communities. The commitment that SEED has made to the students who attend and their families has continued to inspire us to renew our commitment to support SEED year after year. We are invested in the process that SEED has established, reinforcing both the academic and social/emotional aspects of learning and continuing to serve as a resource to SEED students and their families well beyond their graduation. We have been amazed to watch over two decades as that carefully-crafted experiment has blossomed and born fruit, welcoming new classes of students each year under the caring canopy of SEED.

My father was the first in his family to go to college. He would have gone to a junior college to play basketball, had it not been for a teacher who encouraged him to apply for an academic scholarship to a four-year college. He won that scholarship and received more money to go to a four-year college than to the junior college, and one might say that changed the trajectory of his life—and mine. My husbands’ parents were also first-generation college students, and his father was an immigrant who studied in the US as an exchange student and then moved here for college. Both of our mothers were teachers. Giving us the best education possible was a priority for both families, and even though resources were tight, they figured out a way both to send us to the best schools they could find as well as to college. They took out loans and did whatever it took to give us the gift of education, and that gift opened up the world to us, through the people we met and the opportunities available to us. We both feel like we owe so much gratitude to our parents for the sacrifices they made to provide us with our education and everything that came with it; we also recognize the impact that kind of education gave us and feel inspired to help students and families access similar educational opportunities. We recognize the sacrifice and support the families who send their children to SEED undertake—they want to give their children the best educational experience available to them, and they believe that the college preparatory boarding school model SEED offers provides that opportunity. Students are exposed to inspiring teachers, mentors, foreign travel, internships, a well-thought-out college matching process, and an overall supportive environment that prepare them for success.

We have been particularly impressed with the College Transition and Success (CTS) program that SEED employs to help find the best college situation for their students and with the support that SEED gives to its students once they graduate from SEED. When a family commits itself to a SEED education, SEED commits its personnel and resources to supporting that family throughout their students’ educational experience and even into the world beyond school. That dedication and the network it provides for the students and their families has continued to speak to us and given us even more reason to support SEED.

On a more personal note, in the conversations we have had over time with co-founders Eric Adler and Raj Vinnakota and frequently with SEED leaders Lesley Poole, Chief Executive Officer, and Vincena Allen, Chief Growth Officer, we see the tireless energy, constant innovation, and inspired ideas that have led to the success of SEED as an idea and as an institution as well as to the success of its students. What has stood out to us throughout our time with SEED is the care that its leaders pour into the students, often long after they graduate, and the lifelong commitment SEED has to positive outcomes in its students’ lives. We recently watched a video featuring SEED graduates, in which they shared how the journey through SEED and on to college impacted their lives. The words they spoke perfectly encompassed the reasons we support SEED: the unique opportunity to be exposed to rigorous academics and enriching learning experiences in a safe and supportive environment.

We are thankful to have learned in such an environment, and we are happy to support SEED in its endeavors to provide the same to its students so that they can take root, grow, and develop under the nurturing hands of their families and the educators, care takers, and leaders of SEED, to become mighty oaks, fortified by the care and education of their years at SEED and ready to stand strong on their own.

When we asked Haise Borgmann to interview Ms. Michael Da’Costa about her decision to raise her children in the SEED community, we knew she was the absolute right choice! Haise is not only a longtime friend of SEED and experienced writer, but she is also someone who deeply understands the value of a public college prep boarding education and the power of family.

We are grateful to Haise for the compassion and energy she put into writing this piece, and we are forever inspired by Ms. DaCosta’s courage, heart, love for her children and faith in SEED. I know all will be encouraged by the story of the Da’Costa family…please enjoy!

Michael Da’Costa, SEED Family

“SEED is my village.” Ms. Da’Costa ended our conversation with that sentiment, and all the words that she shared over the course of our time together painted a picture of that village.

When Ms. Da’Costa was first introduced to SEED DC, she was looking for a school that would offer her children a safe place to go as well as somewhere that would offer her children a positive environment in which to learn and grow. As a single working mother of five children, she was concerned with her children’s safety as they traveled to and from school as well as what they were exposed to while at school. SEED was an answer to her prayers. While it was difficult for the closely-knit family to adjust to being apart from each other during the week, Ms. Da’Costa had faith that SEED was providing her children with a safe learning environment, and that knowledge brought her great peace, a sentiment she reiterated throughout our conversation. “God blessed our family with the SEED.” She prayed about her decision to send her children to SEED and felt that God put all the pieces in place and guided them to this opportunity.

As her first SEED student, Alex, settled into the new structure and rigor of the school, Ms. Da’Costa encouraged her to persevere through homesickness and the trials of adjusting to her new school environment. As each of her other children became old enough to attend, Ms. Da’Costa was relieved that they could be in the same place, together again. She picked SEED not only for the safety it offered, but also for the opportunity for her children to develop independence. Once they were at SEED, they were able to shine and make the most of SEED. Ms. Da’Costa liked that her children learned to strive and became excited to learn. They became motivated to finish SEED, which was quite a transformation from their early educational experience and the more challenging early days they experienced as they adjusted to SEED. “They wouldn’t have made it at a regular school, given the kinds of things that were happening….They have made great accomplishments because of SEED.”

Ms. Da’Costa credits the teachers and staff at SEED for the strong mentoring relationships her children experienced. Since their father was not a strong presence in their lives, it meant a lot to Ms. Da’Costa that her sons had caring male mentors who could support them as they grew and matured and who could share insights with her as well about parenting teen boys. In addition, her children were able to experience their city, sampling local restaurants and trying new things. When they are together, her children reflect on their stories and experiences from their time at SEED. They still want to stay in touch with mentors, teachers, and staff from SEED, seeking them out when they return home. Those relationships also inspire her children to be involved with SEED in order to provide support to the next generation of SEED students, further building the village that Ms. Da’Costa spoke of so fondly: “Greatness all around.”

Not only did her children get to explore their city, but they were able to explore the world. “Their dreams became big once they went to SEED,” Ms. Da’Costa said. “They could visualize doing certain things around the world and then go accomplish them.” Even though she has never been on an airplane, Ms. Da’Costa secured passports for all of the children so they could travel. Since graduating from college, one of her sons, Dakoda, is now working in IT in Austin, Texas, and her youngest daughter, Dakara, lives with her husband on an Air Force base in Italy. Her children are encouraging her to fly—she has motivation to give it a try to go see where her children are living now! They want to broaden her world in the way that she helped broaden theirs, giving them the wings to fly by sending them to SEED.

When Ms. Da’Costa reflected on her goals for her children, she said wanted them to go to school and promised them she would find a way for them to go to college afterwards but wasn’t sure how to accomplish that goal. With the support of SEED and their college counselors, teachers, and mentors, they were able to explore the best fit for each of her children as well as to access the financial support to fund their college experiences, helping Ms. Da’Costa make good on the promise she made to her children.

Ms. Da’Costa and her children made a commitment to their SEED experience, and SEED has continued their commitment to the Da’Costa family—and the hundreds of others who have gone to SEED—well beyond their graduation from high school. Ms. Da’Costa summed that connection up by saying, “It’s just like family.”

Aline (SEED LA ’26) shares why she and her family decided SEED was the best choice for her future, and what it means to be a first-generation college-bound student.