Success Stories
Often, former students come back to visit and share the details of their current lives. Click on the following links to read about some of our students' successes!
Katie and Kristen Matt Gansl Kyle Vega Mike McLean Stephen Bustell Max Fries
Katie and Kristen
Our adventures began at Marburn in the fourth grade. When we started, we both thought it was the scariest thing ever; we didn't know each other or anyone else, and we were unsure about our learning skills. But we soon found out that it was easy for us to make friends because Marburn was very welcoming. Our time at Marburn made us more confident about ourselves and our learning abilities.
Katie and I had some great times at Marburn! Not only did we grow educationally, but we also learned about ourselves. During our time at Marburn we joined the cheerleading squad and got involved with other extracurricular activities. Marburn taught us how to be ourselves around other people.
Our favorite class at Marburn was Mrs. Scholl's Language class. When we started at Marburn we were both fourth graders reading at a second grade level; by the time we were ready to transition, both of us were reading at grade level! During our time at Marburn we improved our skills in every subject. To this day we still use all the tools and good habits that we were taught at Marburn.
Now we are 17 years old and both of us are juniors. Kristen is at Bishop Hartley High School and Katie attends St. Francis De Sales High School. Kristen is a cheerleader and Katie is on the tennis team. We feel life in general is easier because we went to Marburn. Marburn was a life-changing event that we will never forget and will always be grateful for.
Matt Gansl
Matt Gansl attended school at Marburn from 1997-2001, graduating from Worthington Kilbourne High School in 2005.
Pictured right is Matt with Marburn staff members Mrs. Beth Weakley (left) and Mrs. Kathy Cullinan (right) during his October, 2006 visit.
He started at Columbus State in the fall of 2005 and actually completed all his academic requirements that first year. Matt is currently in his second year of his program in Resort and Hotel Management. He has also been working for two years in the food service program at the Sunrise Senior Living Community at The Forum at Knightsbridge. Matt reports that he enjoys the contact with and service to the the seniors who live there very much; that's why he has continued working there for two years!
Kyle Vega
After visiting relatives in the Canton area, Kyle Vega drove down to Columbus to catch up with former teachers at Marburn Academy on November 1, 2006. Following his 8th and 9th grade years at Marburn (1999-2001) and a move to the Atlanta area, Kyle graduated from Harrison High School in Cobb County, Georgia in 2004. It was quite a transition to go from a class of 10 at Marburn to a class of 500 in his sophomore year, but Kyle reports that his skills proved equal to the task.
Kyle shared fond memories of the adventures he experienced with Ms. Holdridge through the Voyageurs program. He also recalled as a highlight the project he and his friend Corey undertook to rebuild the defunct engine of the school's rusty go kart and the fun they had whizzing around the school grounds when they got it running.
Currently, Kyle is combining his love of adventure and the pursuit of his dream to become a paramedic by enlisting in the Air Force. He has been accepted into the Air Force's elite Para Rescue Jumper training program and reports to San Antonio for basic training in December.
Following basic, he will face the challenges of airborne jump school, Ranger school, and navy dive school in addition to the paramedic training. Kyle said he thinks this regimen will satisfy the thirst for adventure and challenge he discovered in Voyageurs Club while at Marburn Academy. Kyle is very excited about his plans and expressed his gratitude for the help he got from his Marburn teachers at a critical point in his life, saying, "If my Mom had not found Marburn for me, I don't know if this would be happening."
Mike McLean
Mike McLean visited Marburn recently to catch us up on his plans. Mike attended Marburn from 5th through 10th grade and then transitioned to Gahanna Lincoln High School, where he graduated in June of 2005. Following that, Mike and two friends traveled to live in La Corona, Spain, for a month. He liked the beach and social life in La Corona, but the lasting effect of the trip was that he discovered that he was fascinated to experience a whole different culture. On the superficial level, he was surprised by such differences as the mid-day siesta and by the McDonalds and Burger Kings that served beer and wine. On a more meaningful level, Mike found that he was intrigued by the visible signs of Spain's long history. He was struck by seeing 600 year old homes standing next to new apartment buildings and was amazed to encounter Roman ruins from 200 BC. The major effect of the trip for Mike was that he realized that he wanted to arrange his life so that he would have the opportunity to travel the world. "I don't have a dream job that I want to pursue at this point," Mike said, "But I do have a dream activity, and that is to travel the world." This realization has led to his decision to enlist in the U.S. Navy. Mike will report to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center for basic training in January.
Reminiscing about his Marburn years, Mike said, "It was like a family here. I could really feel comfortable here, even when I was getting into difficulty with Mr. Burton. And I got a good education here, too. I loved the 'hands on' teaching -- I actually got to try to do stuff instead of just hearing about it. I loved the Voyageurs trips, too. I was well- prepared for Gahanna Lincoln, and I got such high scores on my Navy tests that I have been given a number of incentives and choices about my training and my specialty."
Mike keeps in touch with a number of Marburn buddies and will be visiting Andrew Glick in Winterpark, Florida over the holidays. Mike reports that Andrew is working hard studying music production at Full Sail School of Film, Art, Design, Music and Media Production in Orlando.
Stephen Bustell
My success story begins in 7th grade. Coming from a public elementary school and having a tough time in math, I spent most of my 5th and 6th grade math time in a resource room getting extra help on problems that were easier than those of my peers. I often felt silly for leaving class to go somewhere else while my friends stayed in the classroom. My mom found Marburn through someone she knew and so I agreed to go and check it out. I toured the school with Mrs. Davidson and had the opportunity to see classes in action and to meet some of the teachers...that was really cool! Another neat thing I saw was that things are taught at Marburn differently than in public school; personal attention and other personal accommodations were standard. Also, Marburn is like one big family…I got to know my fellow students and the staff, not just on an academic level but on a semi- personal level as well.
After spending three years at Marburn, I transitioned to the halls of Gahanna Lincoln High School my sophomore year. There I continued my studies and found that I could handle math class pretty much like the other students, a goal which Marburn helped me reach! I then graduated in June of 2003 and it was off to college. We found a 2 year university in southern Indiana (Vincennes University) that had a program designed for students who have LD or just a hard time transitioning into a college setting. I participated in that program the first two years, and then felt I was ready to move on from that too. During my second year at Vincennes I went from General Studies to majoring in Multimedia. I learned how to use Photoshop, write basic HTML, and other computer program skills, while meeting lots of friends and getting to know my professors. It felt comfortable, just like Marburn again…another cool aspect.
It is now 2006 and I graduated this fall with an AAS Degree in Multimedia. I am eagerly looking forward to a career in my field of study.
Thank you to everyone who helped make an impact!
Max Fries
It was a delightful surprise when Max Fries stopped in after school to visit and bring us up to date on how things are going for him. Max attended Marburn for 4th and 5th grade (1998-2000) and is now in the middle of his senior year at Dublin Scioto, where he has built a strong record of academic accomplishment and leadership. In addition to taking A.P. classes at Dublin Scioto in the mornings, Max is also currently taking courses in math and in 5th year German at Columbus State and serving as president of his school's National Honor Society chapter and Key Club.
Max's plans for his immediate future reflect a serious interest in foreign affairs based on his travels in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. He expects to spend a good part of this coming summer with a friend on the Greek island of Samos, and then in the fall he will enroll for a post graduate year in the Oxford Tutorial College in England to study German, comparative government, and international studies. Following that, he anticipates returning to an American college such the University of Virginia, Tufts, or George Washington University, all of which have specialty programs in foreign diplomacy.
Looking back on his Marburn years, Max shared a couple of memories and observations. He remembered "digging his heels in" and resisting his parents' idea of enrolling him at Marburn because of his fear of leaving all his friends behind. He said it was amazing how little that issue really mattered in the end because of how quickly he was able to make many new friends at Marburn, some of whom he still keeps up with.
Max then recalled a critical piece of advice that Mrs. Davidson shared with him during the admission process which helped him decide to enroll. She explained that the longer he waited to deal with the problems he was experiencing with his school work, the worse those problems would become, and the harder they would be to fix. Max said he was grateful that he had the opportunity at Marburn to get the unique teaching he needed to get over his dysgraphia and to improve his spelling, reading, and organization skills. He and Mrs. Scholl had a good time reminiscing about some of the unusual features of his handwriting when he was learning cursive in her class and in Mrs. Foster's class.
In retrospect, Max said that he felt that having two teachers in each classroom was a critical element in the success he and his classmates experienced. "It was just so important to have that extra attention and support," he noted. "There are so many kids in my school who need that kind of help but can't get it in regular school. I think other schools should focus on putting more of the kind of teaching you have at Marburn into their programs."
Before leaving, Max made plans with Mrs. Scholl to return soon to talk with her fifth and sixth grade homeroom students. She believes her students would be very interested in hearing Max share his reflections on his Marburn experience, and she is convinced that they would benefit from hearing what he has learned about how to make the most of all the opportunities high school presents.
Drew Keller
Drew Keller dropped in for a visit to catch up with folks at Marburn on October 3rd, 2007. After graduating from Marburn in June of 2005, Drew selected OSU's Lancaster campus to begin his undergraduate work. He felt that starting with a smaller campus would be a great way to make the transition from Marburn's cozy environment to the larger college experience. He is now a junior and beginning his second year of classes at OSU's main campus. He loves the feeling of being a part of the larger campus environment, and he feels that his time at Marburn and Lancaster prepared him well.
Drew Keller with Marburn Athletic Director. Jennifer Holdridge, in October, 2007.
Drew is majoring in journalism, an interest he has had since his days at Marburn. He is currently working on a feature story focusing on how media coverage affects crime. At OSU, he has discovered that he also likes political science enough to even consider changing his major. He really likes the way the courses in political science and journalism complement each other, and he looks forward to exploring career options in both areas.
Drew has an apartment on the edge of the OSU campus, and he advises that it is a great advantage to find a roommate like his who keeps everything nice and neat. As big a sports fan as ever, Drew still loves the Reds and the Braves. But despite living inside the beating heart of the Buckeye nation, he remains loyal to his Virginia heritage, and is a true fan of UVA's football and basketball teams.
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