Our Alumni
It takes courage to grow up
and become who you really are.
E.E Cummings
During their time at Springhouse, our alumni spend their years learning how to build life-affirming culture in a world that desperately needs it, and they graduate from our high school with a diploma. After graduation, their next steps are diverse – service work, travel, work to gain financial independence, go to college, get lost for a while, and more. They embody our values of connection, individuality, trust, creativity, resiliency, and integrity and stay connected to Springhouse well after their graduation through our alumni network of support.
Alumni Stories
My name is Adrian, and I graduated from Springhouse in 2016. I am currently pursuing a Bachelor's in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. I hope to do School Social Work in the future, as I believe it is an area in which there is a particularly great need that also lines up with my proclivities and strengths. I also work part time in a youth shelter for teenagers who are in the process of readoption.
My name is Cassidy, I’m 20, and I am in the art program at VCU in Richmond. Things I currently love doing are social justice activism, homework, and hanging out with friends! I am learning so many new things here and am so grateful to have the social and emotional skills that Springhouse provided me as I start this new chapter of my life.
My name is Skyler. I am 20 and I just moved to Richmond, VA. I am currently working full-time as a videographer and video editor. I like to spend my time creating short films, making art, and making music. Springhouse has given me the skill sets to be a better creative and has enabled me to be a more loving and caring human.
Springhouse Alumni
In 2023, we interviewed and caught up with the majority of our alumni. We asked them questions related to what their lives are like now, what they gained from their time at Springhouse, and what they could have used more of. We asked them questions related to our vision and mission so that we could better understand the long-term implications of being in a vitality-centered learning community like Springhouse.
Here’s what we learned…
78% are working at a job
42% go into formal education of some kind after high school
90% feel alive and vital
85% take care of their body
79% give back to their community
57% use technology mindfully
95% create new things
95% can feel their feelings, including grief
95% spend time with people of different ages
100% are creative and authentic
85% are environmentally accountable
90% are empowered and live with joy
What was the most important thing you received from your time at Springhouse?
How to have my own back
Compassion for others
Public speaking skills
Creative problem-solving
Self-awareness and self-love
Resiliency and doing hard things
Knowing how to be vulnerable
A spiritual life
The ability to move toward a goal or solution
Knowing how to learn and how to be self-directed
Staying true to myself
Self-advocacy
Being ok with being different
The value of connection and community
Humility
A sense of peace
We Support Our Alumni
Nearly 50% of our alumni report that their greatest challenge after high school is living in a world that has very different values than what they were used to during their time at Springhouse.
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