Rivers Academy Alumni Association

Attention Rivers Academy Alumni: the Senior Class of 2017 wants to hear from YOU.
Do you have any words of wisdom for this year’s graduates?
• Something you wish someone would have told you before you made the transition from high school to college…
• Something you experienced that might not have been as stressful if someone would have taken the time to inform you…
Please take a moment to let the graduating class learn from your first hand experiences. You may send your words of wisdom, helpful tips, or personal advice in bullet or paragraph form via email to [email protected].

Attention Rivers Academy Alumni: the Senior Class of 2017 wants to hear from YOU.

Do you have any words of wisdom for this year’s graduates?

• Something you wish someone would have told you before you made the transition from high school to college…
• Something you experienced that might not have been as stressful if someone would have taken the time to inform you…

Please take a moment to let the graduating class learn from your first hand experiences. You may send your words of wisdom, helpful tips, or personal advice in bullet or paragraph form via email to [email protected].

Rivers Academy Alumni: we want to hear from YOU!
Please take a few minutes to catch us up on your college experience and life after Rivers. Please email [email protected] with a brief synopsis of your adventures, accomplishments, or fun fact about yourself and your journey through college.

Attention Rivers Academy Alumni: please take a moment and check out the latest alumni update and catch up with Mattie Worsham!

Mattie Worsham, a recent Rivers Academy graduate, is currently enrolled at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She knew she would soon be calling Emory home after her first college visit. Mattie has declared her major in creative writing with an unofficial minor in neuro­behavioral biology. Emory is well known for their creative writing program and is ranked within the top ten schools for this program in the nation. The convenient location of the school is proving to be beneficial to her and her passion as an equestrian; she is still pursuing it with the same regularity as she did before graduating. As an aspiring writer, Mattie was one of the selected candidates to receive the Grace­Abernathy Scholarship for Nonfiction. She was also accepted into the Yale Writers Conference, which was a two week program that took place in June. Mattie says “Rivers’ schedule is much closer to an average college students schedule, which made the adjustment easier. Knowing how to motivate yourself is invaluable in college.” Keep up all the hard work and creativity, your Rivers Academy family is extremely proud of you and we look forward to reading something from you one day!

Attention Rivers Academy Alumni: please take a moment to catch up with Gabby Paskins and read about her adventures at Jacobs School of Music.
We hope everyone's new school year is off to a wonderful start!

Gabrielle Paskins, a recent Rivers Academy Alumni, is currently enrolled at Indiana University - Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana. Jacobs School of Music is highly reputable and known for having the number one ballet program in the country. The admissions process is exceptionally competitive, accepting only 15 new dancers into the freshmen class this year out of 600+ auditions. In 2011, Gabby began attending Rivers Academy, where she was able to develop the skills necessary to be in charge of her own study schedule. This allowed her to be independent, to have autonomy of her own success, and to manage downtime efficiently. Gabby is a declared Ballet Major with an outside field in Early Childhood Education. After completing her 1st major, she will be taking extra classes during the summer and will have the opportunity to receive her 2nd major in Early Childhood Education. Gabby has every intention to continue with her passion throughout college and beyond. Your Rivers family is so proud of you, Gabby!

Attention Rivers Academy Alumni: please take a moment and check out the latest alumni update and personal message from Q Staley!

I attend the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD); it’s like the Harvard of art school. Except unlike Harvard, preppy clothing, Greek life, spectator sports, and cold weather don’t exist.

“We’re an art school near the beach,” begins every SCAD recruitment tour. For most new recruits the tour ends there–enough said! Yet, SCAD offers much more than a Florida suntan. I chose SCAD to chase a rewarding career, and without compromising my high school investments in tennis.

As much as I enjoyed my math and science classes at Rivers Academy, I couldn't bring myself to attend a state university and take another two years of gratuitous core-subjects. So I chose SCAD where the curriculum complemented my interests from day one. I replaced math with drawing and science with color theory. After just two-quarters of these drawing and design prerequisites, I could set forth towards my major classes in motion graphics–and as a freshman, no less. Alas, I found a college with the same no-nonsense mentality I loved about Rivers Academy.

Students seek Rivers Academy because they pursue a passion that would suffer anywhere else. And I distinctly remember my struggle of “anywhere else” that led me to Rivers.

Just four years ago I planned to balance tennis with traditional, public school. I theorized a formula for public school success: study until early afternoon–guaranteeing a shorter school day with online classes–and then play tennis until bed. I so romantically entrusted this formula with my happiness. Little did I realize the flaw in the formulaic expression I devised. Public School + Tennis = :(

So in the middle of my sophomore year, I transferred from North Springs Charter High School to Rivers Academy, and bye-bye went my fruitless P.E., A.P., and computer programming classes that only leeched life from me and my passion for tennis. With one-half days and three-day weeks, Rivers Academy answered my questions, and enrolling then made as much sense as enrolling at SCAD later; it was a slam dunk!

For me, college hardly differs from high school. Of course, this depends on the college–and the high school–but my high school skills meet all the demands of higher education. University requires the same abilities to juggle academic, athletic, and social, and in my opinion, nothing teaches this juggling act better than Rivers Academy. Just like Rivers, college classes only consume fractional parts of the week. It’s up to the student to schedule the remaining time, whether it be studying, extracurriculars, or social fun.

So fear not. I never completed an AP/IB class, nor did I complete advanced elective classes like art or computer science, yet I perform at or above my peers–including those dressed in fancy baccalaureate and advanced elective credits. Understand this: professors presume their students stupid and without any knowledge of their curriculum. But all professors expect their students to manage their time, and LEARN after failure. And since nothing teaches learned correction better than sports, and since Rivers Academy indirectly teaches disciplined time management, I knew everything I needed to know for college.

But know one more thing (something I’m still realizing): use school to fail. Intentional or not, let yourself fail from time-to-time. Familiarize yourself with failure before the price of failure becomes too high. By this, you’ll deflate that price of failure for the future because you’ll know failure won’t end your world. You learn the most when you’re uncomfortable–i.e. growing pains. Most importantly, remember GROWTH HURTS. And if failing doesn’t hurt, then you’re not failing; you’re letting yourself fail.

Try your hardest and take risks while still in a controlled, learning environment. Enjoy the pleasures of your growth and rest assure; you’re already overqualified for college.
Q, your Rivers Academy family is exceptionally proud of the man you have become. Keep up the hard work!

Attention Rivers Academy Alumni: please take a moment and check out the latest alumni update, Caroline Dennard!

Rivers Academy Alumni, Caroline Dennard is currently enrolled at The University of North Georgia, located in beautiful Dahlonega, Georgia. While attending UNG, Caroline has decided to pursue a degree in nursing, plans to enter the competitive program in the fall, and intends to work at the local hospital during the summer in preparation for the rigorous nursing program. Comparing college life to Rivers, Caroline says the flexibility of Rivers' schedule and the need to be self- motivated has prepared her for life outside of high school. She credits Rivers Academy with teaching her how to manage her time appropriately and that specific skill set has enabled her to successfully balance a part- time job, sorority life, and other extracurricular activities, all while maintaining a high GPA. Caroline states, "I have felt so prepared to handle the demands of
college due to the education I received at Rivers, and
I genuinely miss my Rivers family. I'm forever grateful to
every teacher that poured into me and helped mold me into the student and person I am."
"Congratulations on all of your success, Caroline. Your Rivers family is proud!"
Attention Rivers Academy Alumni: please take a moment and check out the latest alumni update, Lauren Fariss!

Attention Rivers Academy Alumni: please take a moment and check out the latest alumni update, Lauren Fariss!

Rivers Academy Alumni, Lauren Fariss, is a talented
musician of Traditional Irish Music and Dance. After
graduating, Lauren decided to take a gap year and
explore the world of Irish Music further by traveling
around the United States and performing. Her preferred
instrument is the accordion and she thoroughly enjoys sharing her love for the traditional music and historical context to all her fans. As an active member of The Traditional Quartet, she performed at a Christmas Party for the Irish Consulate General of Ireland helping to promote Ireland across the states. Lauren also plans to begin college in the Fall.
We are extremely proud of you for chasing your dreams, Lauren. Keep up the great work!

Attention Rivers Academy Alumni: please take a moment and check out the latest alumni updates!

After graduating from Rivers Academy in 2015, Gabby Ragland began her college education at New York University, in Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan. She chose to attend NYU after receiving a full academic scholarship and is now studying Film and Television at the Tisch School of the Arts. While loving the fast paced environment of New York, Gabby has enjoyed having the ability to take engaging and stimulating courses such as the history of espionage. Ms. Ragland credits Rivers Academy for promoting independence and teaching students to think for themselves. Due to Rivers providing a unique opportunity for a more personal education, and a schedule that allows time for exploration of outside interest, Gabby's passion for film making blossomed. She is very thankful for the many teachers who have supported and inspired her in her academic career. We are extremely proud of you and everything you have accomplished in the Big Apple!

Rivers Academy Alumni! I encourage you to take a look at our latest alumni update, Karlena Haase.

Karlena Haase, a recent Rivers Academy Alumni, is currently studying at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. She was attracted to St. John’s College due to its reputation of being a world renowned liberal-arts college. The school is known for encouraging students to learn on their own, to learn to speak for themselves, and to be independent. While attending, Karlena hopes to become a more eloquent speaker, a better writer, and to learn how to think outside (and around) the box. She claims the main reason for choosing St. John’s is because the students have to be curious and independent, all while managing and balancing their personal schedules and course work. With St. John’s’ unique liberal arts curriculum, it is not required of their students to have a declared major. All students are immersed in the most important books , containing great ideas from a wide array of subjects and fields. The students study language, mathematics, science and music with and additional seminar twice a week. Karlena will graduate with an undergraduate degree in liberal arts, and possibly plans on going to graduate school. Karlena is also applying for internships, such as: MSNBC, Huffington Post, CNN, Harper's Bazaar, and new food company called Maple, all based in NYC. While at Rivers, she was able to explore her passion of competitive horse riding and also had time to pursue modeling in New York City due to the condensed schedule. Karlena credits Rivers Academy with providing her an opportunity to complete her school work with multiple resources and the ability to personally contact her teachers. Everyone at Rivers Academy is so proud of all you have accomplished, Karlena! Keep up the hard work!

Rivers Academy Alumni! Check out Michael Kay's feature below to catch up with him and his adventures at Georgia Tech!

Michael Kay, a graduate from Rivers Academy, is currently enrolled at Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta Georgia. Due to Georgia Tech’s renowned academics and elite tennis teams, the commitment to the school was an easy one. Michael is a declared Finance major with a minor in Information Technology. While attending Rivers Academy, Michael had the flexibility to play tennis throughout high school and this helped make it possible to get a Division 1 scholarship to the college of his choice The schedule at Rivers taught him to make deadlines and has prepared him for the challenging time-management skills necessary as a student athlete. Kay’s favorite thing about being a college student is being able to play tennis with a team that is like family, all while getting a fantastic education. We are incredibly proud of everything you have accomplished, Michael. Keep up the good work!

Rivers Academy Alumni! Please take a moment and catch up with one of our very own Alumni, Alice Jacques, and see all of the impressive things shes accomplished since graduation!
See feature below. :)