
Starting Position
by Robert and Grace
Our family has been at Waverly for nine years, and it’s hard to believe that Nicholas, our youngest child, is about to graduate and get ready to attend Eckerd College in the fall. His older sister, Sophia, also graduated from Waverly, in 2017. There are many reasons why we think Waverly was an excellent school for Nicholas (and also Sophia), but above all, perhaps, the school struck a sound balance between academics and personal time. Nicholas is a passionate wildlife photographer who spends countless hours in the field on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. Waverly not only left him with enough time to pursue his passion, but even encouraged and celebrated it, as it does with all students. At the same time, Waverly’s passionate and committed teachers provided a challenging but safe learning environment for Nicholas, one in which he was encouraged to take intellectual risks and think outside the box.
We are grateful to Waverly for being a safe and open environment for Nicholas to explore his other, less obvious talents. As a junior, he explored drama, and we were in awe of how well he expressed himself on stage as an actor. Thanks go to teacher Syd for her encouraging and welcoming attitude toward students entering drama class for the first time. We knew Nicholas had a comedic streak in him, but we did not quite realize how good he was at acting in front of an audience. This experience allowed us to see our son in a completely different light. And, it also gave him courage to trust how he comes across to others in general. It helped him feel good about who he is.
All in all, we strongly feel that Waverly gave Nicholas the space he needed to pursue his passions, while at the same time putting him in a really good starting position for the rest of his life. And for that, we will always be grateful to Waverly.
