Alumni Feature
Fall 2012
Reflections on My Educational Experience at JCS…
Evan attended JCS from 7th-11th grade. He then earned an International Baccalaureate Diploma from United World College.
This fall, Evan enrolled at Princeton University on a full academic scholarship.
When Jefferson Community School opened seven years
ago, it appealed to me only as an alternative to the painful
monotony and social strain of public middle school. I had
no natural tendency toward private school; I didn’t care
about its principles or want to be part of something new
and different. Frankly, the biggest draw of JCS at the time
was that it started a week later than any alternative.
School for me had become the ultimate chore, an act of
endurance entirely devoid of excitement. It was with essentially this mindset that I walked through JCS’s doors
on my first day of seventh grade. What I saw there made
me pause. It was then, as it is now, intimately small. I
found it impossible to hide; yet for the first time in years, I
wasn’t sure I wanted to. With less than thirty students, the
young school relied heavily on each and every one of us.
It was to be based, they said, on the foundations of a community that we would build together— that would shift
and adapt as the group changed, inevitably facing turbulence but always held together by a bond that would define and elevate us. In stark contrast to the callous social
hierarchy of my previous school, JCS offered an environment that, despite its uncertainty and newness, nourished
all those within it, providing the support that frees stu-
About United World College
United World College (UWC) is a two-year International Baccalaureate (IB) program that fosters intellectual curiosity, international understanding, and leadership skills in dynamic, multicultural, and academically challenging environments. Admission to UWC is very competitive, and we are extremely proud
that four of the four applicants from Jefferson Community
School who have applied to UWC have been accepted.
(continued on reverse…)
by Evan O’Brien, JCS ‘11
dents to truly pursue
their interests.
Five years later, as I
looked back at the
most formative period
of my life, I realized
that this foundation
had been the invariable core of my JCS
career—the one constant amid a stream of
ever changing people,
places, perspectives
and ideologies. Each of
the five years I spent at
“Without [JCS], I never
Jefferson Community
would have applied to
School was drastically
different from the last. UWC, never would have
At first, this volatility
met countless people
worried me. Every fall
who mentored and
I longed for the way
things used to be and
shaped me, never would
resented the new stuhave truly stepped outdents intruding on our
sacred space. But by
side my comfort zone
winter I had always
and discovered how
fallen in love again.
much more there was to
After a while, I began
to see even this cycle as
find.”
a uniquely JCS virtue.
Even with all the founders gone, a constantly changing
cast of teachers and fluctuating student body, the spirit of
JCS remained, holding us together just as they always said
it would. Changes never took away from the experience;
rather, they enriched by making it so much more than any
one group of people. The whole that was JCS always transcended the sum of its parts.
(continued on reverse…)
ALUMNI REFLECTION ON JCS
Reflections...
(...continued from reverse) I had no favorite subject
before seventh grade, just some that I disliked less
than others. JCS changed that for me. Its curriculum
does not force ideas on its students, but it demands a
level of engagement that almost inevitably unlocks
undiscovered passions within them. I was a perfect
example. JCS teachers— through their creativity,
dedication, and most of all, passion—ignited in me a
love for everything from English to biology, history
to math. I never would have expected it, but by the
time I left JCS, I was worried that I loved too many
subjects. To this day, I find myself thanking teachers
who inspired me to see school as a genuinely exciting opportunity to learn.
At a place like JCS, students are given the gift of
quality teaching at an intimate and individualized
level. But part of what makes classes so powerful is
the freedom and flexibility that their environments
offer. For the first time, my biology class was supplemented by real life— by walks to the beach for data
collection or additions to the classroom fish tank that
we stocked ourselves. After a few years I began to
see it a little differently: it wasn’t real world examples that added to my classes but my classes that
added to my experience in and understanding of the
real world. That, I believe, should be any school’s
greatest objective. What’s special about JCS is that it
bridges the space between school and reality that
leads so many students—kids like me—to see education as a chore. On expeditions both global and
About United World College
local, I learned that “kinship with the world” is not
only possible, but also an integral part of who I
want to be and what I want to accomplish. I can’t
pinpoint any specific epiphany, but over the years
JCS pushed me toward progressively greater challenges, always convincing me that I could succeed.
On almost all levels, JCS gives its students the reins.
While many would see this as a risk not worth taking, I can say from experience that the result is not
chaos or lack of accountability but a genuine and
meaningful drive toward challenge, compassion
and responsibility. JCS challenged me in ways that I
could’ve never imagined, but more importantly, it
taught me how to challenge myself, to want to explore beyond my comfort zone because I know how
rewarding it can be. When I decided to attend JCS, I
unknowingly made a leap that would define the rest
of my life. Jefferson Community School teaches the
value of building a community, but also the value of
leaving it, knowing that the connections will remain
and that we will carry them with us in whatever we
do. Without that push, I never would have applied
to United World College, never would have met
countless people who mentored and shaped me,
never would have truly stepped outside my comfort
zone and discovered how much more there was to
find. More than anything else, I thank that little
school in Port Townsend, Washington for allowing
me to find the best of myself and realize dreams I
had never thought possible.
Four of the four
leges and universities around the world as
(...continued from reverse) Students are selected from around the globe based on merit applicants from having one of the best college preparatory
curriculums. Most UWC graduates qualify
and potential, and thanks to a special endowJCS who have for ongoing scholarships at the most promiment established by philanthropist Shelby
M.C. Davis, all 50 U.S. students selected to
applied to UWC nent colleges and universities in the U.S.
and throughout the world.
attend the UWC schools each year are
have been
awarded full merit scholarships covering tuiSince all UWCs have ethnically religiously,
tion, room, and board. Successful applicants
accepted.
and socio-economically diverse student
must have leadership potential, an outbodies—essentially a teenage United Nastanding record of academic achievement, a genuine detions—students must demonstrate their desire to be
sire to serve others through volunteer community service,
excellent U.S. ambassadors with respect for other culand a keen interest in exploring the outdoors.
tures and nationalities. Most UWC campuses host about
200 students from 60 to 92 countries.
UWC’s IB program is regarded by the most selective col-