Alumni, Owls, alum

Anthony G. '21

Hometown: Pleasanton
Middle School: Pleasanton Middle School

Academics at Athenian are never limited to the classroom. Whether it be an Art and Culture lesson in the Mission district or even hosting a huge entrepreneurship competition on campus, there has not been any shortage of experiences beyond the four walls of a classroom.

Desiree O. '21

Hometown: Pittsburg
Middle School: Athenian Middle School

In my junior year I had the opportunity to take a seminar called African History. Despite me already being raised by Nigerian parents, I was able learn to a lot in that class about the political prisoners and movements that have been hidden or sugar-coated by America’s biased education system.

Christopher C. '21

Hometown: Lafayette
Middle School: Athenian Middle School

To me, experiential learning means deeply understanding and comprehending a topic through interaction with it. Whether it be swinging a pendulum, taking notes in a field journal, or putting on a play, you learn by putting your all into an activity.

Jeslyn B. '22

Hometown: Danville
Middle School: Diablo Vista Middle School

Experiential learning to me means learning through doing, whether they be through collaborating in discussions with my peers in literature seminars, or conducting an experiment to see what elements can affect the color of a flame.

Amanda D. '21

Hometown: Danville
Middle School: The Athenian School

During my time at Athenian, I have had the opportunity to travel worldwide through Round Square, a collection of private schools internationally. In particular, my exchange to Colombia was one of the most meaningful and beautiful experiences in life.

Leo Z. '22

Hometown: Pleasanton
Middle School: Alsion Montessori

I grew up, like a lot of kids, loving science fiction. The worlds of stories such as Ender's Game and Star Wars have always been fascinating to me. At least more than the books we read for school traditionally.

Mary D. '21

Hometown: Concord
Middle School: Foothill Middle School

Experiential learning to me is more than the hands-on model many schools promote. While learning hands-on in the classroom is important, experiential learning includes travelling across the world to learn about another culture by living in it, not reading about it.

Mika M. '22

Hometown: Walnut Creek
Middle School: Contra Costa Jewish Day School

Out of all the classes I have been a part of, I will never forget the impact that sophomore year's US history class had on me. I am a huge history buff, and I got to further explore the different events that shaped American history.

Jason S. '22

Hometown: San Ramon
Middle School: Iron Horse Middle School

Photography has by far been one of the most impactful classes throughout my journey of education. Not only does photography assist you in immortalizing a single moment in time, but this lifestyle also allows for the user to accept and share new perspectives of the world around them.

Emily V. '22

Hometown: Danville
Middle School: Charlotte Wood Middle School

Every March, Athenian students have the opportunity to partake in March Term classes which consist of both on-campus and international hands-on classes. I had the extraordinary privilege of participating in a coral reef restoration project in Roatan, Honduras.

Lauren A. '23

Hometown: Danville
Middle School: Charlotte Wood/Athenian

While at home last spring I got worried that the spirit of Athenian and the push for experiential learning would be lost in online school. Then I was told about the Rube Goldberg project for my physics class.

Mark M. '21

Hometown: Alamo
Middle School: Palmer School

The Justice for All seminar taught by Lea Hartog truly opened my eyes to the vast injustices within the criminal justice system in the US. Systemic racism is rampant within this system, and it is important to teach young people about these issues in order to fight for change and a more just country.

Natalya Z. '22

Hometown: Alamo
Middle School: Palmer School

For me, experiential learning means learning through an activity rather than learning about it. In freshman year physics, there was this rocket project. We were able to try different sizes, water amounts, wind shapes, etc.

Qingyang Z. '21

Hometown: Shanghai, China
Middle School: Dalat International School, Penang, Malaysia

Junior year, I stumbled into Divine Comedy by pure accident. Having no previous exposure to the term "philosophy," I had no idea that this class would became the first little step of a lifelong pursuit. Unique to the Athenian curriculum, philosophy seminars are hidden treasures I've come to discover during my time here.

Sonya S. '23

Hometown: Pleasanton
Middle School: Lawson Middle School

This is my second year of classes at Athenian - all challenging me in different ways and rewarding me with hard-earned grades. However, physics stood out to me from the beginning.

Tavi G. '23

Hometown: Oakland
Middle School: Prospect Sierra

Going into freshman year, I thought literary analysis was pointless. I thought that reading was all about the plot and I hated when I was forced to analyze every piece of the text. Everything changed when I got to 9th grade World Literature.

Jen O. '22

Hometown: Alamo
Middle School: Singapore American School/Athenian

At a Round Square Conference in Lima, Peru, I had the opportunity to participate in a simulation of a United Nations conference with delegates from across the Americas. In groups, we were given a country to represent and an international problem to solve in relation to the country; we did research, formed opinions, presented, and voted on a hypothetical course of action.

Tracy Q. '23

Hometown: Wuhan, China
Middle School: Hubei Huayi Boarding School

The physics class that talked about mystery fountain would be the most meaningful class to me. Our teacher brought out a fountain system that is covered, and we were supposed to figure out how does it work.

Prisha S. '22

Hometown: Alamo
Middle School: Athenian Middle School

Experiential learning varies from person to person. Through my time at Athenian I have learned to think outside the box and look for other ways to get an answer. From the Focus Fridays to various independent projects; both teachers and students really encourage you to be your best self out there.

Student Ambassadors

Welcome from Director of Admission Chris Beeson