For Kaylin, CSS was about more than academics. It was where she learned how to tackle problems head on and collaborate in a team environment, skills she has carried with her ever since.

She remembers Spanish teacher Marta Kunze as the educator who made a lasting impression. Kaylin especially appreciated the way Ms. Kunze brought real-world applications of the language into the classroom, including leading Kaylin’s ECS trip to Granada, Spain with unmistakable passion for her work.

Mountain Caravan, the tradition that kicks off each school year, has stayed with her, too. But it was her 2019 ECS trip to Madagascar that changed her trajectory. Traveling across the world to learn about rainforest conservation was, she says, life-changing and sparked her interest in working abroad in the future.

Kaylin has since graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration. She credits CSS’s hands-on education with preparing students to become involved, passionate adults, ready for college and beyond.

Thank you for your continued support of CSS, Kaylin! — "Once a Kodiak, Always a Kodiak"

For Coltin, 13 years at CSS was where he learned to dive into community and never turn down a “rad” opportunity, a philosophy that has carried him from Colorado Springs classrooms to the open water and beyond.

Coltin points to Mr. Takacs as the teacher who made the biggest impact on him. Mr. Takacs was there through the struggles of freshman year, every injury, and the moment Coltin committed to college.

One tradition he has held onto is simply showing up. Whether at CSS or now in college, Coltin and his friends still put on eye black and bring their full school spirit to every home game they can attend.

The opportunity that changed the course of his life was sailing in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The experience led him back to the same boat as a teacher during the summer after he graduated. After graduating and working aboard the Denis Sullivan, Coltin headed to Wofford College, where he studies Astrophysics and plays lacrosse for the Wofford Terriers.

He says the CSS community still matters because the same supportive staff who helped him get where he is today are still there, guiding other students through similar journeys.

Thank you for your continued support of CSS, Coltin! — "Once a Kodiak, Always a Kodiak"

More than four decades after walking the halls of CSS, Sarah still carries the lessons she learned there. Chief among them are the ability to understand the many sides of an ideology and the confidence to focus on her strengths and enjoy them. It is a perspective that has served her well throughout a career spanning continents and industries.

Two teachers left a lasting mark. John Pitman, she recalls with gratitude, provided the kind of intervention that can quietly redirect a young life. Ava Heinrichsdorff taught with a joy that stayed with Sarah long after graduation, reminding her that education is as much about spirit as it is about substance.

Some memories are as sensory as they are academic. Sarah still thinks of Anglican hymns and knee socks as traditions that have stayed with her, small but vivid details of a CSS childhood that have endured for decades.

Theater and the study of African history changed the trajectory of her life. Those early explorations of performance and a world beyond her own opened doors and broadened her sense of what was possible, setting her on a path that would eventually take her across the Atlantic.

Today, Sarah is a board professional in Sweden and has lent her expertise to organizations including Thule, Klarna, the Karolinska Institute, and Government Pension Funds. Her career reflects the same curiosity and rigor that CSS first cultivated in her.

For Sarah, the CSS community still matters for a simple but powerful reason: it can help make a constructive, curious adult out of each child. It is a mission she has seen play out in her own life and one she believes continues to shape generations of Kodiaks.

Thank you for your continued support of CSS, Sarah! — "Once a Kodiak, Always a Kodiak"

For Meia, CSS offered a powerful understanding of how people are shaped by the environments and communities around them. Learning to be intentional about where she invested her time and energy, she says, helped her better understand who she wanted to become.

Dr. Wells was especially influential in that process. Meia remembers him as a teacher who encouraged and supported her, always meeting students with empathy. “More than a mentor,” Meia says, Dr. Wells is someone she feels deeply grateful to have had as a teacher.

Theater was the opportunity that most changed her trajectory. Auditioning and joining the theater community encouraged Meia to put herself “out there,” build confidence, and embrace a growing love for musicals. She also came to appreciate the energy of creating something together as part of a cast and crew.

Meia is now attending Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York.

For Meia, the CSS community remains meaningful because it is important to remember the place that helped educate and shape you, as well as the friendships and experiences built there over the years. She believes continuing to support CSS matters because there will always be students coming after us. Having already walked part of the path, alumni can help make the way a little clearer for those who follow.

Thank you for your continued support of CSS, Meia! — "Once a Kodiak, Always a Kodiak"