Justin Ahern

Justin joined our program in the 2019-2020 School Year. He spent a year studying fashion, textile care, and dog breeds. As this next school year came around his interest in environmentalism grew, and he started thinking about life in super rural areas of our country- places like Alaska and Montana. He became interested in researching how to buy land in remote location and build a home on it and live off grid. We had some fun looking at properties together! He even traveled to Montana (with his dog!) to get a feel for the lay of the land. Justin hopes to spend the next year or two developing his garden so that when he’s ready has deeper knowledge to move forward. You can read more about him here.

Devaki Hope

Devaki (pronounced DAY-va) comes from a family addicted to travel and adventure. She grew up in Thailand where her parents had a fair-trade business. She grew up interacting with artisans from rural villages on a daily basis. From a young age she appreciated the art and beauty of the human experience. She has visited 28 countries and has called 5 different countries home: Thailand, England, USA, Spain, and Nepal. As a teenager, she has been really interested in dance, art and performing, most recently performing as a hyena in “The Lion King” and a pirate in “The Baddies of Broadway”. This past year Deva has spent quite a bit of time studying Astrology, Spanish, and deep introspection and personal growth. Take a look at her amazing portfolio here. Deva hopes to take a gap year this coming year, then go to a University in Spain and study Flamenco dance, other types of dance, and Spanish.

Victoria Rubin

Victoria has homeschooled her whole life; in fact, she has been a long time unschooler. As a child, she spent a lot of time doing gymnastics and competed nationally. She loved floor exercises best. She also loved anything outside- hiking, skiing and snowboarding, and going to the beach. As a teen Victoria pursued dance, instead of gymnastics. She does Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Hip Hop, etc. She is also pretty crafty and enjoys upcycling and making random things with glue, tape, and sewing. This year she was really busy with her first part time plus job– working in the rental department at Snow Valley Ski Resort.Victoria likes to do crazy random things, like shave her head, which she did since this picture was taken! Victoria got accepted to University of North Dakota, Bottineau, where she will pursue a degree in Photography. You can learn more about her here.

Jaden Frescas

I met Jaden when he was about 10 years old (maybe younger) in a homeschool park day, that we both were a part of. Jaden was completely allowed to follow his interests as a child- he gamed, played outside, loved the beach, and hung out with friends. He was part of the Heartland Charter school for many years; however, Jaden is a super free spirit and the requirements and restrictions of the Charter school stopped working for him, so he joined Pacific Sands. Here, he was able to spend his time skating, soul searching, and thinking deeply about the world around him. This past year, he got a job working at 2 nearby restaurants, and loves working at both.   He hopes to continue his education at the local adult school, and attend college in the future. He’s saving money to travel out of the country.

Emma Gillon

Emma came to Pacific Sands Academy in the 2018-2019 School year. Her great passion is horses—everything horses. She has leased several horses throughout her life, starting at age 8, and fell in love with every one of them. She has worked in a barn the whole time I have known her, working with training horses and teaching children the basics of how to tack up and take care of a horse. She currently rides a horse named Symphonee, and competes at a high amateur level in 3 foot Hunters and Equitation. She has a dream of competing on the USA Equestrian team some day. Emma has learned so much about horses throughout her high school career—their health and care, and potential problems and remedies. Emma also works as an ice cream scooper and babysitter- and has shown deep responsibility in these jobs. She enjoys creative writing and art. You can read more about Emma here. She plans on getting her training license and continuing to work at her barn and ride and compete with Symphonee.

Annaleah Fraser

I have had the pleasure of knowing Annaleah since she was a tiny baby being carried around by her mom, as she homeschooled her older brothers. Annaleah grew up in a homeschooling family, spending lots of time outdoors making fairy gardens, playing on the beach and exploring the redwoods around her home. She started more traditional school as a young teen and realized after succeeding in it, that this type of learning was not for her. She developed an interest in investing and started her own portfolio, where she researches and makes all her own decisions, and grows her money through the stock market. She enjoys hiking, camping, walking on the beach, and other outdoor activities. She also loves traveling and has been to Russia and Norway. Annaleah is already on her way to earning her AA from our local community college, and plans to attend Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.

Pacific Sands Academy students enjoy their childhoods and teenage-hoods again, and find they have time to pursue their real interests and passions. Families find peace. Please visit Pacific Sands Academy for more information.