Eli Germain, former Bridgeview Montessori School student and current senior at Ball State, stopped by the other day to check in. Eli came back to see us and share his recent art work with glass with his art teacher Sandy. To learn more about Eli and other older students and young adults who have moved beyond Bridgeview, contact Suzanne at slawson@bridgeviewmontessori.org for a ZOOM Invitation to a very special alumni event on Tuesday, January 14 at 7:00.
Pictured: After leaving our school, Eli came back to volunteer his time at Community Clean Up Day.
I attended Bridgeview for seven years, spanning pre-k to fifth grade. For middle school, I attended Rising Tide Charter school in Plymouth, then completing my secondary education at Sturgis Charter School in Hyannis. At both charter schools, I attained consistently high grades while feeling distinctly underwhelmed by both the rigor of the offering. For my entire adolescence, I was an avid swimmer; first for Cape Cod Swim Club for 14 years and then for one at Ball State University in Indiana, where I am currently a senior.
While I came to college seeking Division 1 athletics and a degree in actuarial science, neither of those things worked out as anticipated. During a self-reflective period in my freshman year, I adjusted my course work to pursue data analytics and the visual arts. Entering my final semester, I am happy and excited by my pursuit of sociological and historical data analytics.
I am fulfilled by and proud of the work I’ve done in the glass studio where I’ve really reconnected with the artistic passion of my earlier childhood.
One consistent feature of my personality, interests, and the life journey they’ve produced is my desire to be a sort of jack-of-all-trades. I have a general love of learning which I’ve rarely found to be isolated to a single area or subject. This disposition is reflected in my current path, which blends elements of STEM through data, humanities through its human subjects, and visual arts through my glass making.
Though it took a while to find it, this blending of interests and outlets seems to give me a bit of everything and has contributed to a deep sense of inner peace. Though now it’s largely a product of the freedom of higher education, Bridgeview was the only school I’ve attended, including Ball State, which gave me that feeling on an institutional level.
The memory of how Bridgeview Montessori made me feel led me to reconnect with Head of School Sandy during this past holiday break. Having recently been able to truly reconnect with my passion for art, which she helped to foster, I wanted to share some of my glass. Despite my surprise visit and my long time away, I was immediately recognized and greeted by both Sandy and Suzanne who remembered me on a deep and personal level.
Despite the intervening years, I find their deep recognition and honest enthusiasm in seeing me to be unique amongst the educators I’ve encountered elsewhere.