By Laurie Harquail
Spring 2009
At public high school, Kelsi was a good student – for a while.  Then he started to slip. Limited teacher attention, lax rules, and frequent fights on campus were just a few of things that turned Kelsi off from school. He started skipping class just to hang out. After a while, Kelsi realized, “I wasn’t on a good trajectory.”

A friend recommended Open Meadow, which Kelsi describes as “a school that keeps me on track.”  Like all Open Meadow students, Kelsi has access to staff members who provide one-on-one attention and encouragement.  His counselor Kris Bumpus and teacher/advocate, Mark Burton work directly with Kelsi to make sure he stays on course to pursue his college and career goals.  And, although Open Meadow students receive much support – they know that ultimately it is up to them to succeed.  According to Kelsi, “I’ll fall off only if I let myself fall off.”

Besides a positive structured environment, Open Meadow also provided Kelsi with a life-changing opportunity. Through the Pangaea Project, Kelsi spent five weeks in Ecuador where he got to see and experience the Amazon, meet the locals, and learn about global issues and the environment.  Says Kelsi, “It opened my eyes to the world.”

Now that he’s been bitten by the travel bug, Kelsi’s latest challenge is to balance his desire to see the world with his plans to attend college, but feels confident he can do both. He does know for certain that whatever his choices, he “wants to live life to the fullest.”