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Julia shares her 8th grade graduation speech, given on June 10, 2023.

Oneness has been a dream come true; a school environment where I have been supported, respected, and loved.  I have been prepared with academic skills, but also taught important lessons that I will carry with me through the rest of my life. During my time at Oneness, I have learned how to be a successful student, the importance of connection, and to be willing to push myself out of my comfort zone. I have also learned that I am brave enough to speak up when needed. 

In the Arbor, my teachers Shawn, Samantha, Madhavi, Robin, and Shelby prepared me for the academic journey ahead, teaching me about new kinds of work such as working with grammar boxes, using math materials like the checkerboard, and reading books during SSR, which became one of my favorite times during the day.

In the Academy, I built deeper connections with my friends and my teachers, Josh and Malkia. I have made incredible friendships during my time at Oneness, and my time in the Academy has helped me grow more confident in approaching new people.

In fifth grade, during our time online, when I wasn’t able to see my teachers and friends in-person anymore, I realized how important the connections I had to them were. Even in this strange time, everyone at Oneness tried to make things seem as connected and normal as possible, especially Josh, who made quarantine more bearable by having Zoom calls with me during the summer of 2020.

In the Ambassadors, I have learned to push myself outside of my comfort zone and that I can do things that I might have thought impossible. 

I have gone on many trips in the Ambassador classroom, which have helped me to learn to stretch beyond my comfort zone. When we went to West Virginia in seventh grade, I learned how brave I really am, especially when I walked 876 feet above the ground across the New River Gorge. 

In eighth grade, we went to the Montessori Model United Nations meeting in New York, which was a transformative experience. I had been worried about going on the subway, which I hadn’t done since the start of COVID, but I managed to overcome that fear with the help of my teachers and friends. I even learned I can survive repeated trips on a high-speed glass elevator despite my fear of heights. 

I have also learned to speak up even when I’ve found it difficult. There were times when I worried that something someone was doing would hurt someone else. When I have spoken up, the teachers and staff that I have talked to have always been encouraging, supportive, and caring. This support has made it easier each time that I have spoken up.

Before I close, I would like to offer some acknowledgments. Andrew, your vision for a school has shaped so many people’s lives and created an environment where everyone can learn, grow, and thrive. Karen, you are a beacon of support and are always ready to answer any questions.

Shawn, Madhavi, Samantha, Shelby, and Robin, you created a space of joy in the Arbor classroom and instilled that love of learning in me from the very beginning. 

Josh and Malkia, you are amazing teachers and funny, encouraging, patient, and great listeners. 

Hannah, you have always been willing to listen and support me. You are always there to steady me, soothe my fears, and help me cut down the lengthy writing assignments. You are always willing to assist with any technical issues that I have run into – you are a genius! 

Pearl, you are truly one of those teachers who knows how to balance learning and fun. You have always made me laugh, even on the days I was sure were the worst, and you have always been there to nudge me on track while still being funny at the same time. 
To the fifth graders heading into sixth grade, I would like to tell you that your new teachers are some of the most wonderful teachers in the world. 

Hans, you have always been there for me whenever I needed you, and you can always make me laugh or smile.

Irene, I appreciate your kindness and cheerful nature. 

Fiorenza, sei l’insegnante di italiano più meravigliosa, ovviamente, non c’è neanche bisogno di dirlo. Continuerò a praticare il mio italiano e ti sono molto grata per avermi aiutato così tanto!

To Luis, Matlyn, Guido, Mike, Brian, Bodil, Ariel, and all of the other people who make Oneness a better place, thank you. 

Finally, I would like to thank my family; Mother, Daddy, Alexandra, and our cat Trixie. You have always been there to help me and to listen to anything I wanted to talk about. There really can’t be a more supportive family than all of you.

As I conclude, I would like to say that while I cannot see what lies before me, I can look back at the journey I’ve had and truly appreciate what a big part Oneness has played in crafting the person I am today.  Oneness-Family School may be an unusual name, but a better one couldn’t have been chosen – we are truly one family. 

Thank you.

Julia Tchikine ’23

I have countless memorable experiences from my time as a student at
Oneness and because of those experiences, so many valuable lessons I
still carry with me. I think among the biggest of those lessons is the
importance of remaining grounded. I remember learning this through lessons on meditation and during our “personal world” course in middle school.

I currently work at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art as the
Visitor Services Coordinator, managing volunteers, planning enrichment opportunities, and engaging with the public. I have a lot of variety during my workday; I often transition from interacting with visitors to performing minor troubleshooting on some of the technology in the gallery. I can confidently say that I can trace my preparedness in my current career back to my years at Oneness.

Jasmine Taylor, (’07)

The global perspective that grounded everything I learned at Oneness was so important in instilling cultural and inclusive understandings in me that I still embrace today. I also remember how valuable the application of practical skills was. Oneness was exactly what my twin sister and I needed when we needed it—although we were only there for a few years, those formative years are the best time to imbue Montessori values. 

Currently I’m a state lobbyist in Columbus, Ohio working to help clients navigate the state legislature and executive government. I’m also in the midst of planning my wedding for this September and hopefully an accompanying honeymoon to Thailand shortly thereafter! 

I am currently studying animation abroad in Holland, with a focus on directing. One of my most insightful takeaways from Oneness was learning how to communicate and be a part of an effective team in order to allow everyone to realize their full potential in a welcoming environment. My best memories from Oneness are all the trips and travels where we enjoyed getting to learn outside the traditional educational setting. 

Even though it has been more than seven years since I attended Oneness, I have maintained a lifelong relationship with teachers, administrators, current and former students. I have had the ability to participate in festivals, open houses, and extracurriculars at Oneness, which has made me feel closer to the community.

One of the most life-changing experiences was working on the musical ‘The Aristocats’ for the musical program. I have been doing theater all my life and when I was asked to help direct the musical, I did not hesitate to start brainstorming ideas. At Oneness, I was one of the most enthusiastic theater kids; ready to do any performance, from Bard Night to singing with Andrew. So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to continue that trend. I have been able to connect with many young students and introduce them to the wonderful world of theater. 

One of my main main takeaways from Oneness was developing a true curiosity about life and love for discovery. From an early age, the Montessori approach taught me to be a hands-on learner and ask questions that matter.

I think it is what guided me toward science, which is an experimental field where new knowledge is always being created and old knowledge is being turned over. If I hadn’t been encouraged by the environment at Oneness, I wouldn’t have had such an intrinsic and sustaining desire to keep asking questions and always to remain a skeptic. I studied pharmacology at McGill University and feel fortunate to call on principles that were taught to me early on — compassion, creativity, and compromise — that are sometimes neglected in the hard sciences but are nonetheless so important. I will keep these principles foremost in mind as I study medicine at  Emory University.

As for my favorite OFS memory, the one that stands out is traveling to London for a class trip in the 8th grade and jumping on the beds in the townhouse where we stayed while screaming along to “The Lion King.” It was a truly gleeful moment.

— Elise Van Leer, Student 2002-2013, Grades PS to 8

My favorite aspect of Oneness-Family School was the emphasis on mindfulness. It helped me develop important skills as a young person. Oneness focused on world peace, which helped me orient and form a world view as a global citizen who embraces the ideals of kindness and love. I try to pass on my ideals to my students and incorporate mindfulness in the classroom.
 
Ryan enjoys activities like fly fishing and backpacking as ways to practice mindfulness as an adult. Together, with his soon to be wife, he tries to lead an intention-filled life.

After leaving Oneness to move back home to the Netherlands in 2013, I realized I had left a special place. Oneness had an idea and sense of kindness and fairness which I have yet to experience again, and it was exactly what I missed the most at my new school. Oneness brings back vivid memories of going on field trips, pizza Fridays, and, of course, class pet iguana Iggy in the Arbor.

Currently, I’m packing my bags to leave home and move to Armenia, where I’m attending the United World College of Dilijan. It’s a program (in many ways similar to Oneness) where students from 80+ countries attend a boarding school, the goal being to learn from each other. So far, the experience is fantastic, and I couldn’t be more grateful. I’ll finish by saying that the values of Oneness have shaped me to be the person I am today.

My favorite memory of OFS is probably all of the different teachers I had over the years. They were all formative for me in their own unique way and the environment they created let me explore a lot of interests I had. They also helped me develop a lot of skills such as proficient reading, maths and typing that all benefitted me greatly throughout my school years. Besides that, I loved our field trips in the old bus back in the 90s!

Felix currently works as a sound editor for films at Shepperton Studios near London, UK. There he mainly works on dubbing blockbuster films for the international market. His favorite parts of the job are getting to put his language skills to use and being able to see upcoming films many months before they hit the cinemas! He also does freelance photography on the side. 

Thinking back to what I learned at Oneness, I can see how my experiences there shaped how I approach my work and relationships of all kinds. I currently work as a research engineer at a semiconductor company in the Boston area, specializing in algorithms development. In fact, I recently helped start a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) group in my office to see how we can help the company as a whole improve itself on a “people” level. We spend so much time pushing forward technical work that we sometimes forget that we’re all individuals with unique needs and wants. We’ll all live and work better together if we do our best to acknowledge that uniqueness with openness and compassion.

On a related note, I took over as organizer of an affinity group on Meetup.com a few years ago that is focused on people with a sensitive temperament (myself included). It turns out that there’s an incredible diversity among those who consider themselves to have relatively strong emotional responses to their environment, which often manifests as a need to empathically relate to others. All these values around diversity, empathy, and compassion are rooted in my experiences at Oneness. I’m glad that I had the chance to spend a few years there and hope that today’s Oneness students take some of those same core values with them. It makes a big difference!

Students at Oneness are taught that the world is much larger than it appears, but that we have the ability to love and create positive ripples in the lives of others. I currently work in IT for a government contractor in Virginia. This position involves the ability to meet people where they are in moments of frustration. Following my learning at Oneness-Family School, I attempt to put myself in their shoes and in doing so can often better assess their issues and be a calming resource for them. There is a saying that “the mind works best when it is open.” This school opened my mind to listen, which has been a blessing in my life. 

At Oneness, I learned to believe in myself—that if something seems impossible, if you stay with it, you will eventually succeed. As a student at this school, I had a sense of inclusion, that my opinions were heard and valued. All teachers knew us as unique individuals. Oneness to me is a family and I keep in contact with my community even though I am far away. I am now living in Stockholm and interning at Gleechi, a company developing software solutions that enable hand interaction between humans, robots, and computers. I have found that I can combine my passion for art and helping others at the same time!

Oneness taught me among a million other things, to love other people by default; to love our differences and individual contributions. That everyone is multifaceted; that we must listen, communicate clearly, and work together in order to succeed. The most wonderful thing we can do is protect each other and lift each other up. What it feels like to be part of a safe community, how to speak up for myself and others. To know we belong to this planet and it is our duty to care for it. That family is as big as you allow it to be.

Oneness-Family School opened my eyes to the uniting and creative inspiration that is Mother Earth. From our stream clean-ups to the many camping trips and outdoor excursions, this school always left me with a deeper appreciation for and connection to all living begins. Learning about global, cultural, and religious connections to Mother Earth, as well as our current impact on the planet, has had a profound impact on me. With these values in mind, I studied Genomics & Computational Biology at Washington University in St. Louis and am now pursuing a master’s degree in computer science.

I attended Oneness-Family School as a preschool student and later on as a middle schooler. My time at Oneness taught me creativity, leadership, authenticity, community, and global thinking. 

One of my best memories as a student at Oneness was the annual camping trips we took. These trips gave us time to connect with nature, bond as a classroom, and take a moment for personal reflection.

— Gabri Espina, Student 1998-2008, Grades PS to K and Grades 7 to 8