Dear Marburn Friend,

My name is Brian Carey. I am a Major in the United States Marine Corps (with six deployments, including three combat tours), a Cobra helicopter instructor pilot, and a former Marburn Academy student. I’ve never been given special consideration for being “learning disabled”- a label I hate. In fact, no one in the Marine Corps, except the few I have shared this story with, knows or would even care that I learn differently than they do. I compete every day against other Marines for career advancement, rank, and advanced flight qualifications. I’m able to do this because of the tools that Marburn Academy gave me in just a year and a half.

Never give up, never quit. I had been kicked out of both the public and Catholic school systems by the time I was in the eighth grade. I left both of those programs feeling defeated and let down. I had a dream of what I wanted to do, but neither school system had been able to give me the education and support I needed to achieve those dreams. Marburn Academy gave me the skills I needed to transform my dreams into reality.

If not me, then who? Despite my many challenges, Marburn gave me a place where I could fit in and excel. Marburn staff understood my behavioral and educational struggles, and they had the skill to teach the way I learned best. At Marburn, I felt accepted and successful—feelings that I had never felt before, in school nor anywhere else. If it had not been for Marburn and their dedicated staff, I don’t know where I would have ended up. Marburn ensured that not only did I do well there, but that I would also be able to compete on a level playing field back in the school system from which I had come and throughout my life. In a short period of time, Marburn’s teachers gave me the tools I needed to succeed on my own.

Marburn Academy did so much more than just fix my academic issues. They gave me the confidence I needed to accomplish my goals; and in conjunction with my parents, imparted to me principles that I live by to this day. I look at every challenge that is placed before me and know that if I don’t do it, then maybe no one else will. I know that as long as I never quit or give up, there is almost nothing I cannot do. I pass on these lessons to my fellow Marines as well. Similarly, I am confident that Marburn Academy’s outstanding teachers will continue empowering students, in much the same way they did me, for years to come.

Semper Fidelis,

Maj. Brian “Monk”Carey
Marine Light Attack Helicopter Training Squadron 303

Update: Brian Carey was named Marburn's first alumni Board Member in 2021. Read more here.