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The chief reason why most families choose online education for their children is personal flexibility.  For the Brown family, flexibility meant the ability to complete school work from Santa Cruz, Bolivia!  In this month's Student Spotlight, we are excited to introduce you to Nathan and Eva Brown.    Nathan, who recently graduated from VCS, and Eva who will finish up this next year, have been educated at either private Christian schools or private missionary schools since they began their schooling.  Before coming to VCS, their state-side school was New Hope Christian (one of VCS's Success Sites), and their Bolivian school was an international school where the children of other missionaries and US expatriates also attend.

Mike and Donna Brown, with their children Evangeline and Nathan in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Raising their children with against the backdrop of both the American and Bolivian cultures has had both challenges and rich rewards.  Since they were infants, both Nathan and Eva have had friends of virtually every ethnic and national origin.  In addition to the indigenous peoples, others who are serving for WGM come from all over the globe.  The lifestyle is second-nature to both Nathan and Eva, and has given them both experiences which solidified their appreciation and acceptance of cultural diversity, which, the family says, has strengthened their faith as Christian believers.

But it wasn't until the family made their next-to-last return to the states just before last year, they were forced to make a new decision relative to their children's' education.  New Hope did not provide education past the eighth grade.  "I didn't really want to go to public school my last year of school," explains Nathan.  "I didn't like the idea of being exposed to something that was really completely different than what I was used to.  I needed to focus on my grades and not be distracted, and of course  flexibility was the most important thing." 

The Brown family learned of VCS and decided to give home schooling a try.  Nathan and Eva started off at a local success site in Circleville, Crossroads Christian, in order to help their children make the transition.  Crossroads provided a class tutor to meet with VCS students and help them stay on track.  Shortly after the new year, Nathan and Eva returned to Bolivia again, this time taking their schooling with them.  They are again home this summer, but expect to return again to Bolivia this fall. 

In addition to helping his family, Nathan is an avid juggler.  He says he picked up an interest as a young child and is pretty-much self taught.  He can now juggle five objects, including balls and pins, and says it is a skills that has given him the ability to relate to children and families in Bolivia.

Nathan has already been accepted to Olivette Nazarene University in Bourbonnaise, Illinois, south of Chicago.  He plans to study in the field of computer science, but beyond that, he is not sure where his studies may take him.  Nathan's other passion is culinary arts.  "My favorite is baking and pastry arts," he admits, as he shows off a photo album with some of his creations.  They are beautiful! 

Eva is the quieter sibling.  She has a keen interest in the arts and enjoys painting and drawing.  Eva says she prefers older, "realist" paintings, as opposed to modern art, as she recognizes far more talent in the former.  Her favorite artists are the masters, including Michelangelo.  Eva also enjoys playing the guitar and hopes to improve her playing over time.  She just received a new guitar for a recent birthday present.  

As far as her future goes, Eva is thinking about studying art at the post-secondary level, but is also considering Japanese.  She is completing a conversational Japanese course in her spare time.  "I've always had a real interest in the Japanese culture and really want to travel there sometime in my future," Eva shares.

Nathan, we wish you the best of luck at Olivette Nazarene this fall; and Eva, we look forward to helping make your senior year a memorable one at VCS.

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