The Summit Academy Fall 2022 Newsletter

THE SUMMIT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Letter from the Headmaster, page 5

Class of 2022, pages 6-7

Board Planning Retreat, page 8

Gala Success, page 9

Senior Thesis Program, page 10

The Summit Expands, page 11

Student Spotlight, pages 14-17

New Faculty, page 19

Faculty Spotlight, pages 20-24

Alumni Spotlight, page 25

A LETTER FROM THE HEADMASTER

Dear Friends,

We hope that you enjoy reading our Fall Newsletter and discovering all the new things that are coming together as we shift into the seventh academic year of our young school.

The Summit Academy has always been, at its foundation, a community effort, and our project has consisted of local families simply stepping up. However, it is always the case that the phenomenon of a lot of people doing what they can, where they can, creates unstoppable momentum. It is an exciting time here at The Summit, and we are not only feeling the momentum, but seeing it in very concrete ways. There are now over 100 students on our campus and, to enable that growth, we have constructed a new 2,400 square foot building to provide additional classroom space. At our Fall Gala we shared some exciting news about a beautiful piece of land on which we plan to establish a permanent campus. You can expect more news on that front as planning unfolds, but we did have a little taste of the excitement on Thanksgiving week when the community came together for a land blessing given by Fr. Eversole, followed by our annual student/parent soccer match.

Working with young people offers us the gift of seeing the world as full of hope and opportunity, and the excitement of growth and next steps. To all of you who partner with us in this mission, we appreciate you stepping out with us. We look forward in hopeful anticipation of what God will do next! Pax Christi,

CLASS OF 2022

Rich Moss, Director of the Heights Forum at the Heights School in Potomac, MD, addressed The Summit’s Class of 2022 during last year’s graduation ceremony. In his commencement speech, Moss drew upon the wisdom of a wide variety of authors and great figures to express the profound relationship between happiness and friendship. Cicero and Atticus, Francis and Claire, Johnson and Boswell, Dietrich and Alice von Hildebrand, John of the Cross and Theresa of Avila, Tolkien’s Frodo and Sam each bear witness, Moss explained, to the surpassing value of true friendship in the pursuit of greatness. “Fight to protect the friendships you’ve formed. Call each other and call each other out. Exhort like Paul, chide like St. Theresa of Avila, be faithful like John at the foot of the Cross, offer counsel like Gandalf.” Moss also encouraged graduates to intentionally seek mentors as guides and models as they make their way professionally, discern vocations, and discover their spouses. Concluding his remarks with a blessing from Psalm 69, Mr. Moss reminded graduates of the gift that they had been given in a Classical education, encouraging them to reflect upon its breadth—from Seneca to St. Therese of Lisieux—and the part they would have to play in its further realization amidst the ordinary poetry of their lives.

After expressing their gratitude toward their families, friends, and teachers, student speakers Colin Looby and Aidan Fraser exhorted their fellow graduates to reflect upon the duties that follow from a completed Summit education: “The Summit has done its duty, and now it is time for us graduates to do ours. Inside each of us lies a branch of that community that the Summit has planted. Inside each of us, grows the seed of true Christian brotherhood. It is our duty now to go and spread it, for it is not ours to keep sheltered away, hidden in our hearts.” Looby and Fraser challenged Summit graduates to embrace the challenges and opportunities of adulthood, using their formation to achieve excellence in their future careers and vocations, provide for those who will depend on them, and transform the culture of their communities, cultivating fertile soil for the reception of the Gospel: “We have been given the light of the world, and as we go out today into our futures, let that light shine for all to see, so that all may see and know the glory of God. Shine, so that all may know the joy of Man fully alive.”

Congratulations to the Summit Class of 2022!

Rich Moss addresses Summit graduates during the 2022 Commencement Ceremony.

BOARD PLANNING RETREAT

This past summer, The Summit Academy Board of Directors held a three-day

planning retreat, led by Stephen Colella (Cabinet Secretary of Parish Life for the Archdiocese of Miami) and his wife Kari (head of Annunciation Ministries). The Board tasked themselves with making some important assessments. The first task was to review the clarity of the school’s mission by asking how well leadership could articulate that mission, both internally and externally. The second step was to assess the major milestones, but also shortfalls that had been reached in accomplishing that mission over the first five years of existence. Finally, the board began the preliminary work of beginning to discern the important steps that would be essential for advancing in the next phase of growth.

The co-founders agreed that the retreat was effective in positioning them to work with parents and teachers with renewed and increased clarity. Patrick Looby shared that “from the beginning, we felt that the parent partnership is essential for healthy schools and we have always tried to be as transparent and as

approachable as possible to help foster that partnership.” Julian Malcolm noted “I think that openness served to provide some really illuminating input from families over the past few years. There is the regular input that we receive from impromptu and planned meetings with parents as well as some great input from focus groups and parent surveys. Summit families are pretty involved and it gives us a lot to work with.” Recently appointed Board chair, Joseph Stibora, summed up the weekend as follows: “The Board’s sole purpose is to guide and serve the school and its mission. And that mission is, in short, to help parents fulfill their responsibility to raise well formed sons and daughters of the Church. Stewardship of an institution requires attention to its mission, the willingness to do the adaptive work to keep that mission alive, and the need to plan thoughtfully and realistically for its future. As we worked on the strategic planning to solidify the amazing successes we have had over the last six years and to

grow and mature the school responsibly, we did so with a deep commitment to the partnership we have with our school families.”

GALA 2022 EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS

The Summit Academy’s second annual gala took place on Friday, October 21 at Stevenson Ridge in Spotsylvania Courthouse. A soldout crowd of over 200 parents, friends, and supporters of the school gathered at the lovely venue for an evening of joyful comradery, delicious

trips dramatically more accessible. Also novel was the announcement that Headmaster Julian Malcolm made about the school’s recent acquisition

of

food, music, dancing, and fun, with the shared end to help fund classical Catholic education.

Building on the success of last year’s inaugural event, the gala brought back all the favorites, including an open bar, sit-down dinner, live music, and an exciting auction. A “Beads for Buses” raffle was a popular new addition and made a tangible impact on the school. The school now

Thanks to the sponsors, advertisers, bidders, and generous donors, over $140,000 was raised before and during the event. With an additional $87,000 of matching funds, the total raised

has two vehicles with a total of 27 seats, making Mass attendance, sports practices, community service projects, outdoor programs, and field

was $227,000. After the fundraising portion of the evening was over, dancing to the lively music of the band commenced. Senior class volunteers, teachers, and parents danced the evening away. Too soon it was the end of another great gala and the memories made and friendships fostered will carry over until next year. Mark your calendars for October 27, 2023!

the new property on Gordon Road. When he shared pictures, cheers erupted from the guests.

SENIOR THESIS PROGRAM

submit a Thesis Proposal specifying their text, a working question, and a ranked list of preferred faculty advisors to the Thesis Coordinator, who will work with them to secure approval by the Academic Dean before the start of summer.

The Senior Thesis, the signature effort of a student’s education at The Summit Academy, is a sustained performance in the liberal arts. It is not a work of specialized research, but the extended pursuit of a difficult question in dialogue with a great author. “Texts” must be either included in or closely related to the Summit curriculum. Students are encouraged to plumb any of the liberal arts for works they love that raise questions they would love to pursue: not merely literary and historical works, but mathematical proofs, musical scores and librettos, masterpieces of architecture or sculpture or painting, theological and philosophical treatises, seminal works of scientific thought, great experiments and inventions, political documents, laws, encyclicals—anything, in short, with sea voice in the “Great Conversation.”

Juniors begin a serious consideration of their text and topic during the Fall Semester; they enter a period of formal brainstorming at midyear. By the end of the Third Quarter, they

By the end of the following September, students submit a formal articulation of their Thesis, Outline, and Bibliography to their advisor for approval. In early December and late January, respectively, students submit First and Second Drafts to their advisors for critique. Final drafts are submitted in late February, after which students prepare with advisors for the public presentation and defense of an eight-page abridgment of their essays. Students must then pass an Oral Examination administered by faculty panels during school hours. These examinations are open to the entire community, and are attended by all students and faculty, together with the parents and families of seniors. The three strongest theses, as determined by faculty vote, advance to the Senior Thesis Finals, a public evening event at which finalists defend their theses before a panel of guest judges, who award the Senior Thesis Medal to the winner.

Each Summit Academy graduate completes and defends a senior thesis as a capstone to their studies.

“The thesis project taught me how to trace small truths back to God, Truth Himself. It prepared me to discover truth in my life after the Summit . . . even when it is hidden.” —Kate Delaney, winner of the 2022 Senior Thesis Medal

THE SUMMIT EXPANDS

This summer, with support from generous donors, The Summit constructed external, “modular,” classrooms to facilitate the new, full-time middle school program. Assembled over several weeks and after a series of harrowing delays,

the “mods” were completed just in time for the beginning of middle school classes. These four classrooms represent both the growth of The Summit’s student enrollment and the future of the academy.

“In order to take on more students, we needed more classroom space, and we needed it fast. However, we wanted to avoid sinking a lot of capital into a solution that could only meet a short-term need. The powerful thing about the modular building is that it bridges the gap between our near-term requirements for more space at our current site while positioning us with the flexibility we will need to scale. We have the flexibility of relocating that structure and modifying it for permanent use when it is time to move to our permanent location. Rather than limiting ourselves to an ‘either-or’ decision, we were able to opt for a ‘both-and’ solution that acts as a longer-term investment.”

—Headmaster Julian Malcolm

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

AN INTERVIEW WITH JUNIOR EMILY WARNICK

BY EVAN WILLIAMS

What is your favorite activity or sport? What is your favorite book?

My favorite activities are enjoying quality time with my friends, going on school retreats with them, and enjoying the beautiful outdoors. My favorite sport is field hockey, which I started here at the Summit in freshman year. I really love playing this sport because it requires a lot of skill and it can be challenging to get just right, The atmosphere of a team sport is so encouraging and fun.

My favorite book would be Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. This literary work can teach you so much, from the scientific ideas of Dante’s time, to the aspects of God’s love. It’s amazingly crafted so that every part of it has a meaning; every word is carefully chosen to further convey Dante’s message. The Divine Comedy also applies to our own spiritual journeys. Dante’s pilgrimage from purification to perfection is one that we all must take in order to reach heaven.

When you first came to the Summit, were you aware that our approach to education was different? What did you first notice?

I knew something was different about the Summit from the moment Mr. Looby and students came into my 8th Grade classroom to introduce the Summit Academy. My subsequent shadow day confirmed this difference. I came from a background of mostly teacher-led lectures and instruction. I had never really been in an environment where the students themselves are the driving force behind learning and are not relying on a teacher or textbook to feed them the answers. Another element I quickly noticed is the community in the Summit’s classroom. In a typical school, learning is independent. At the Summit, students are learning and working together, not sitting alone at a desk learning by themselves or competing amongst themselves to “get the best grade.” The students here are able to help each other through the in-class discussions so that everyone, guided by a teacher to remain on the right path, can come to the same level of understanding that the others have.

Was there a moment in your education when the difference became manifest or was it a gradual realization?

It was a gradual realization which reached its peak during sophomore year when I really began to understand and appreciate the Summit’s differences. Talking with other people about their schools and education got me thinking about the educational differences between the Summit and other schools. It made me think about why we focus on class discussions and why we have the type of homework we have. I eventually realized that the way we do things has a great effect on the abilities of stu-

dents to think and express themselves well and fosters a love and desire for learning.

I think the main distinguishing factor is the Summit’s mission of making its students “fully alive”, by equipping them to actively and effectively learn. You can only go so far by just being fed knowledge and facts; eventually you have to take the initiative and actively seek to learn and truly understand. The Summit education leads us to desire and seek to learn and equips us with the abilities to effectively do this ourselves. When we can seek the truth ourselves, we become free because we can use our minds to decide for ourselves and seek goodness and beauty without having to rely on or trust the words of others. We don’t learn just in the classroom; we also grow our bodies and souls. We strengthen our bodies by mandatory participation in at least two sports or some other physical activity every year. We grow our spiritual life by praying the Liturgy of the Hours and attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass together, using opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation throughout the year, and studying theology in the classroom.

The retreat program serves all three parts, challenging our minds and bodies in new, demanding activities and removing us from our busy worlds for a short time. Other schools focus on one or two of these, but rarely all three. The Summit student becomes “fully alive” because he is able to seek truth, goodness, and beauty, and is able to use his mind, body, and soul with proficiency.

Outside of the classroom, I play field hockey and soccer for the Summit and swim competitively during the summer. Participating in these sports has taught me a lot about leadership and cooperation as well as the importance of physical activity and exercise. I also play the piano and I have taken lessons for about 10 years. I practice for over an hour every day, which takes a lot of discipline and effort.

Balancing piano practice, recitals, competitions, schoolwork, and sports has taught

What do you think distinguishes the Summit education (in particular, the Summit classroom) from alternatives?

How do your extracurricular interests tie into your Summit education?

“You can only go so far by just being fed knowledge and facts; eventually you have to take the initiative and actively seek to learn and truly understand.”

me how to manage my time effectively. My education has also taught me to have a greater appreciation of beauty, and playing the piano reinforces that appreciation because there is so much beauty that can be found in music. I enjoy piano so much more now because I have learned to seek the beauty in music and to share it with others.

Can you recall a time that your different classes intersected in an interesting way?

I’ve noticed that actually happens a lot. All of our classes are connected in some way to theology, which makes sense because it is the “Queen of the Sciences.” Our history classes are closely tied to the development of the Church throughout history, presenting her impact on the world, the lives of saints, and major Church events. In Literature we read works like the Divine Comedy, we discover theological themes and we discuss their significance. In our science classes, we learn about epistemology, how one reasons, and how one uses scientific knowledge to be a good steward of the earth. These are just a few examples.

One profound, particular instance was in freshman year, when we were studying the Romans in Ancient History, reading the Aeneid in Literature, and translating an adapted version of the Aeneid in Latin. This was one of the first times I noticed connections between the classes like this, and it really opened my eyes to the unity of the liberal arts.

How has your faith grown at the Summit?

One of the ways my faith has grown is in theology class, learning about God and the Catholic faith by examining the Sacred Scriptures and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, among other sources. My faith has also been encouraged by being in a Catholic community where others are devoted to their faith and are striving for heaven. My favorite thing to do as a community is to pray the Divine Office as a school, since it unites each of us and reminds us of the larger, world-wide Catholic community.

What are you most excited about for next year as a senior?

I’m really excited for all the leadership responsibilities the seniors have. From service projects to driving the Math and Latin Help sessions, from encouraging and helping teammates on the sports field to running the house system, the seniors have a lot of opportunities to take initiative and serve others. I’m also excited for the senior trip, hoping for a unique, fun-filled, and faith-growing experience with my friends, and I’m looking forward to the senior thesis project. I know it will be a lot of hard work and effort, but I’m excited to take on the challenge and I believe it will be very rewarding.

NEW SUMMIT FACULTY

Genevieve Riley attended Ave Maria University, where she studied Accounting and played soccer. Through several backpacking trips to Utah and serving as a counselor for Camp Wojtyla in Colorado, she discovered her love of the outdoors. She worked as a college advisor and athletic director for a K-12 classical academy in Florida before returning to school and receiving her MS in Business Analytics from William & Mary. After a year of experience as a data engineer at Booz Allen Hamilton, Genevieve joins The Summit Academy where she will teach both middle and high school as well as bring forward her experience in soccer and outdoor leadership to serve.

Evan Williams developed an interest in classical learning shortly after he finished high school. Prior to his first year at Hillsdale College, he picked up David McCullough’s biography on John Adams and was deeply impressed by Adams’ classical education. Evan would go on to finish his time at Hillsdale with a double major in Classical Studies and Philosophy. In graduate school at Marquette University, Evan was fortunate enough to study under renowned Latinist Fr. Reginald Foster (who served in the Vatican as translator under four popes, even preparing Pope Benedict XVI’s tweets for the Latin Twitter account @ Pontifex_ln). Suffice to say, Mr. Williams learned the importance of making Latin accessible! Evan is a lay Dominican and is currently finishing the dissertation for his PhD at the University of St. Thomas, Houston. Evan, and his wife Lauren, have four daughters.

DISCOVERING WONDER

A DISCUSSION BETWEEN AMY REESE, ZACH CANDLER, AND HEADMASTER JULIAN MALCOLM

Julian: What did you do in the science industry before you got to the Summit?

Amy: Well, I had been thinking about going pre-med in undergrad, but once I got into school I found that I really enjoyed the research side of things and I ended up getting to do a lot of work with cellular movement/ metastasis. After school I took a position at Johns Hopkins where they were establishing a molecular diagnostic laboratory to coordinate with the clinical cytogenetics laboratory. That was a lot of fun because it was a new project and we were starting from the ground up. Then I spent some time developing protocols for comparative genomic hybridization, conducting proteomic and stem cell culture-based research, which was focused on developing successful bone marrow transplants. Then, during grad school, I was doing DNA sequencing to support genome mapping, and from there I ended up at the Joint Warfare Analysis Center.

Julian: So, what about you Zach?

Zach: Admiration of astronauts and fascination with flight and space flight was all a part of my childhood and ended up leading me to aerospace engineering. After school I spent 8 years working on the Orion Program which is NASA’s program to build a human space exploration vehicle that was intended to potentially be part of a Martian mission.

Julian: A manned missions to Mars. Was that as cool as it sounds?

Zach: Hmmm, it’s not like we weren’t working on interesting problems or that I found it to be completely boring—there was plenty of interesting stuff there. But there was also the reality of working on a pretty massive program in a large corporate and government-type regulatory structure. So, there was a lot of document and policy work and not a lot of creativity.

Julian: Sounds like the juxtaposition in your science careers had to do with the freedom to explore in more entrepreneurial projects vs. some of the confinements that come with large, management-centric operations. Tell us about the shift from industry to education. Can you share a little bit about the motivated you and what that’s been like?

Zach: I have always had a lot of interest in the humanities. While engineering was my day job, I started to work on my Masters in Theology at the Augustine Institute and I also ended up in some book groups with all kinds of interesting folks studying not just Catholic Theology, but Literature and the Great Books. It struck me that in the canonical tradition, particular during the shift out of late middle ages, the people who studied science and logic were receiving this infusion of all these Greek and Latin texts that had been lost for a while and it kind of supercharged them and changed their perspectives and created the flourish of creativity that we now recognize as the Renaissance. I felt like in my twenties I was all of the sudden discovering all these things that were out there that I hadn’t been exposed to in my education and I was also discovering the depth of the Catholic Tradition. Anyway, I was also involved in youth ministry at the time, so I was working with high schoolers, and I was kind of seeing what their lives were like. It was all that and more that led me to be interested in forming young Catholics, helping them to engage in the faith and to really understand what it means to be a Catholic and have the inheritance of a Living Tradition. Classical education was very attractive for that reason.

Julian: You mentioned the renaissance and creativity, and Amy I’ve heard you refer

to scientific discovery as a really creative process that has to involve ingenuity, originality, and finding a different way of looking at things. What’s the biggest mindset shift that you have had coming from a background of “doing” science to teaching “science”? Are there areas where you had to adjust and be creative?

Zach: When I came to The Summit I had some sense of wanting to instill wonder, to explore, to see beauty and symmetry, and also I had an appreciation for problem-solving given my background in engineering. I wanted to teach students to appreciate the beauty of mathematics and a way to approach math as a puzzle that can be solved by just encountering reality and working with it carefully and patiently and diligently with the right kind of tools. When I discovered the Math program that Philips Exeter had developed, where there is an emphasis on discovery-based learning and not just learning the formulas, encouraging students to probe and prod, discuss and explore mathematics, and really find out the secrets for themselves and practice them. Implementing that program has been exciting because it puts the students in the position of doing the real work of making connections and discovering patterns and it put me as the teacher in the role of a coach and a guide, not the primary content deliverer.

Julian: Where does the content come from?

Zach: From the Divine ordering of the universe.

Amy: I had a similar experience when I first came here. Of course, I enjoy Biology - it’s life all around you! My own education as a kid was just reading the science textbooks. I was supposed to just read it, memorize all the parts of the cell or whatever the topic was, and regurgitate it. But I was always drawn to the story of the actual scientist who was somehow creative enough and free enough to have figured out all the info that was in the textbook. The word “free” resonates with me because I have been fortunate enough to have positions in the past where I have been allowed to just go in without preconceived ideas or biases, and just discover. I’ve realized that you also have to learn to be confident. To become capable and competent you must be able to find some direction and footing for yourself. Of course, students need guidance in the beginning, they need guardrails, but they also have to be given the freedom to get on the road themselves and drive.

Julian: Right. Science is a liberal art too. Can you talk a little bit about how we integrate Math and Science here at the school?

Zach: Here are some of the ideas and concepts that we have developed that are very useful for even talking about the natural world and for even understanding at a high level the work of empirical science. Transitioning from the Introduction to Natural Science course into the Physics I course, one of the first things we ask is, “What does it mean to move?” and that always generates an interesting conversation.

Amy: And moving into Chemistry and Biology, we don’t just start with “here guys, here’s a little cell.” They are seeing science in the context of the bigger picture. Cells also move. How do we understand that motion and why do we even care about why cells are moving? Not only do you have a better framework for understanding things like genetics in biology, but you also have a more realistic sense of how to solve practical problems.

Julian: And that sequence of Physics, Chem, Bio, Advanced Physics also lines up with the Math. By the time they are in the Advanced Physics Class, students have had

proofs that would make working with vectors much more relevant and approachable.

Zach: Yes, actually they will get vectors in Math as sophomore simultaneous with the Physics I course so that does supply an application of the mathematics where we can talk about the two things side by side. We can see that this is a mathematical idea that can be understood as a complete abstraction, but it is also very useful for applying it as a physics problem or as a physical description that involves movement through space and time, taking into account speed and direction. And we want to be able to talk about both to describe the motion of this thing.

Julian: And their Algebra is pretty competent and solid by the time they are Juniors and working through Chemistry and Biology, which involves more algebraic expression.

Amy: That’s right! When, we cover the dynamics of Thermo-Chemistry, movement of molecules, that gets expressed as PB = NRT, for example. You have equilibrium constants and rates, and free energy equations as well, some of those fundamentals. We look at enzymatic reactions in Biology, so they are seeing several ways that we solve problems mathematically and quantitatively.

Zach: In math, we introduce vectors to the sophomores so that works well with the Physics I, but then, it is not going to be until later that they study exponential functions. What’s the perfect application of exponential functions? Biology.

Julian: It’s obvious that the two of you have exemplified the sort of collegial collaboration that we want to develop in our students. That really helped bring forward the sequence of our Math and Science program too.

Amy: Sure, well you know that the when you begin Chemistry that it really starts with Physics. So we will work in the first quarter by defining terms from physics. Zach and I would discuss that. It’s probably not an observation that is unique to us. I mean, Physics is the rulebook for the game. And Chemistry and Biology are within the parameters of Physics. So we thought that students would benefit from having an introductory-level Physics course to introduce the basic principles and fundamentals to tee them up for Chemistry.

Zach: Yes, so we start the freshman off with the Introduction to Natural Science class. That is really important because that class involves teaching logic and presenting some philosophy to set the stage for teaching students how to ask scientific questions and what it means to make distinctions, and establish categories not only with the larger discipline of natural sciences, but across the span of the different types of knowing, of understanding what is true. The sequence of the science program is that students complete the freshmen class and then move into Physics I first semester sophomore year. So that’s your introduction to Newtonian Physics and then you move from there into Chemistry and build into an advanced Biology where they will get 8 college credits in the junior year. In the senior year we come back with a more advanced level of physics.

Julian: That makes sense to bookend things with Physics, because really the question of science is: what are physical things, how do we understand their substance and properties of change?

Zach: Yes, Amy was saying a little about it earlier, but part of the inspiration for me also came

from the fact that I started teaching this junior-level early modern history class that covers the span from the renaissance to the beginning of the early 20th century. I started to think a little bit more about how helpful it’s been for me to more deeply understand some of the scientific ideas by understanding some of the historical genesis that’s part of the development there. In the human history of mathematics, I saw the same thing: that understanding the way that these ideas evolved is an incredibly helpful and useful way to see them in context with one another and in the sciences.

Julian: For a teenager, learning math and science in the 21st Century, how is that helpful for them?

Amy: Well, imagine that you were hired to solve a bunch of little problems, but you have no understanding why they are paying you to do that. You have no understanding of the back story, you don’t really understand the context, no idea of how the little problems are related to each other or anything. Wouldn’t you feel sort of under-equipped and even a bit used by your employer? Don’t we all experience the chaos that occurs when you’ve got this society that all of the sudden is wrestling with the challenge of having the solution without understanding the problem?

One of the wonderful things about aligning our science program this way is that it correlates with the development of mankind’s empirical arguments and students come to understand the purpose and meaning of science. They understand the conversations that mankind has had all along about the empirical world around them. They aren’t just coming away with just the factoids of the parts of a cell. They understand why cell theories and germ theories came into play.

Julian: Wow, so science is fundamentally a human endeavor. That certainly calls into question the bifurcation of science and humanities in schools and colleges. You need both. To close out the conversation, what would you want for your students?

Zach: First of all, I want them to leave with more wonder than they arrived. We want to be able to inspire that wonder because there is no way to answer all of the questions in a high school career and there is a lot more out there to explore. In order for our students to continue learning after graduation, I hope we’ve led them on a journey that allows them to wrestle with important ideas and to have an authentic encounter with mathematics and with the natural sciences. Whether or not they go into the sciences after high school, they’ll have a very clear understanding of what science is and how it fits within the whole realm of human experience. This experience and understanding is such an important part of being a well-adjusted Christian, a well-adjusted person in the 21st Century. There are a lot of attacks against the faith based on scientism or faux science. I certainly want to be able to say that we are positioning our students for careers in science if that is the direction they are inclined to go in.

Amy: Yes, and it doesn’t have to just be for a career. What I want to see is that students have the skills needed for making a good inquiry about anything. I want to help students reach a level of competency and the confidence to know that they can pursue their questions. I love it when I see a young person who is not bashful about going and doing whatever empirical science can provide for you in addressing your inquiry. And yes, if they are ever asked to be a part of a project that involves scientific analysis, or if they end up being a politician, or whatever they are called to, they won’t shy away from asking a question and exploring whatever it is and figuring it out. I want them to be comfortable figuring things out. I don’t want them to be afraid of going into areas that they don’t know about yet. I want them to wonder about things and figure them out even if it’s not in the niche they are working in.

MAXIMIZING OPPORTUNITIES

It’s hard to believe, but college graduation is just around the corner for our first class of students at The Summit Academy (Class of 2019!). In fact, Marie Sampson has already wrapped up her undergraduate studies at the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND where she completed a double major in Psychology and Philosophy in just three years!

We recently caught up with David Ivory, (Class of 2020) who is currently a junior at Thomas Aquinas College (TAC) in Southern California and is keeping quite busy! If you’ve met David you know that he has an insatiable curiosity and is always eager to jump in and learn new things, particularly anything having to do with entrepreneurial endeavors.

The leadership at his college recently asked David to serve as student body representative for an interview with the President of the Legatus, an organization of Catholic executive leaders. Not surprisingly, David is serving as a strong representative of his school. Having heard good things about the school, a venture capitalist firm reached out to TAC to inquire about hiring an intern. David was selected as a prime candidate for the position internship.

David shares that he felt it was his education at The Summit that helped him see and take advantage of opportunities: “Obviously, I’m young and just starting out. Even though I don’t have a lot of prior experience in any of the spaces I’ve been working, I feel like I have a high level of confidence in my ability to research, observe, and adapt. It’s nice to get positive feedback from employers and clients about the input I’m giving. I know that a large part of that is because of the fact that I learned to think and reason well at The Summit.”

This past summer, David spent his days working at Atlantic Union Bank and his evenings doing consulting work for Juvenescence, a startup Botanical company that produces and sells artisanal infusions. David’s efforts were directed towards building the company’s online point of sale system to increase revenues and product development, and then allow them to leverage the system as they expanded distribution to traditional brick and mortar retail partners. The same client has tasked David with sourcing US grown materials for their new business line.

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