Our Students are Going Places.
Literally. At SEED, they turn the world into a classroom.
From studying abroad in Greece to participating in international technology conferences in Miami, SEED students are building a legacy for themselves and their communities on their path to college completion.
But don't take our word for it--see for yourself:
Jada, 9th Grader at SEED Miami
Augustine, Junior at SEED Maryland
IMANI, SEED DC CLASS OF 2019
Two years ago, Imani was selected as a peer mediator. To her surprise, her classmates really heeded her advice, prompting a revelation:
“ “I have a lot more power than I thought—even little actions can make a big difference.””
Imani hasn’t just gained personal empowerment from her community service; it’s also a vehicle for her creativity. This fall, she designed a Compassion Campaign where students wear two-toned bracelets that get flipped to affirm positive behavior.
Imani’s commitment to service has also cultivated her leadership skills. Last year, she and her classmates wanted to maximize their evenings at SEED by volunteering three hours every Tuesday and Thursday at the DC Central Kitchen—so they took the initiative to launch a program doing exactly that. Of the many opportunities SEED has provided Imani, perhaps the best has been the freedom and encouragement to bring her own ideas to life.
MOISES, SEED Maryland Class of 2018
When Moises and his classmates went to Honduras for a week, they were tasked with transforming a one-room shack into a proper schoolhouse. But the new environment transformed soft-spoken Moises, too, bringing him right out of his shell. When some of his classmates got discouraged with the manual labor, he offered help and encouragement; he even began opening up to the program’s CEO to learn more about Honduras and how to volunteer again. Since the trip last summer (funded by the Samuel G. and Margaret A. Gorn Foundation), Moises has recommitted himself to taking advantage of other SEED opportunities. Meeting different people in Honduras—and seeing the impact of his service— “made me want to do more.”
OWEN, seed mIAMI cLASS OF 2021
“Every day, we talk about core values. SEED will help prepare me to be a better man in life and to make good choices.”
In many ways, Owen Navas is a normal kid. He loves basketball, playing video games on the weekends, and his grandmother’s cooking. But just like his 60 classmates at SEED Miami, Owen lives an exceptional life from Sunday to Friday evening as a member of SEED Miami’s first class. That means no TV or video games. It means regular community meetings where students and staff talk about modeling the school’s core values. It means study halls and reading groups each evening. And it means doing all of this outside of the home he is accustomed to. For someone so young, Owen has a remarkably mature understanding of why SEED’s unique environment is important to him. He knows he is lucky to have individual attention from teachers and student support staff as well as an education immersed in character development. He also knows that living on a college campus (Florida Memorial University) is a benefit afforded to few so young. And just as he is excited to set an example to the classes that have and will come after him, he has enjoyed looking up to the college students he sees living out his own dream every day.