Sophia Thom, '25

Sophia Thom, '25, joined her ESA class in fifth grade, their last year on the Lafayette campus. She says during that year, Mrs. Claire Alvarado really inspired her in figuring out who she was as a student. "I came from a school that really put me in a box and set limits on how I could succeed or excel as a student," Sophia says. "Mrs. Claire really showed me my value as a student and a thinker." 

ESA is unique because it promotes the individual and supports the needs of the individual. ESA gives students control of the path they want to take in their education without setting limits or boundaries on what they are capable of or succeeding in.

Overall it has been most challenging just finding happiness in my own success rather than comparing myself to my peers in a very rigorous bubble.

I've done cross country since freshman year and have been captain since my junior year. I also joined cheer my senior year, and I coordinate the senior/sixth grade buddy program. 

Art. I would love to study art around the world and in particular how it has changed not only through how it looks on the outside, but how society views it. Fashion. I love seeing what my mom wore when she was my age, and what my grandmother wore. I am fascinated by how fashion has changed over time, as well as society's views on what we wear.

ESA has allowed me to blossom into myself and figure out who I am as a student and pushed me to think for myself, while also teaching me deeper critical thinking and life skills that I can take into the real world. ESA has allowed me to explore my own interests without bounds or setting a limit on my success.