SPOTLIGHT: CRYSTAL ALBURGER
Nineteen years ago, Crystal Alburger began her formal education as a two year old in Laurin’s Pre-Primary class at Montessori de Terra Linda. She’s now a college senior. As members of a small group of students who were the first class to complete Upper Elementary, she and her classmate, Seamus Cummesky, proclaimed themselves the Queen and King of MdTL.
Crystal is a creative writing and anthropology major at Beloit College, a small liberal arts college in Wisconsin. Her aspirations are many and varied. She hopes to become a famous author writing novels and short stories. Last semester for her study abroad experience she chose to work for a very small non-profit rehabilitation center for disabled children in Uganda. Her eyes were opened to the needs of the developing world and the fundraising requirements of non-profits. So, another career path she’s interested in pursuing is writing grants for non-profits in the field of sustainable development or microfinance. This summer she and her partner are going to earn some money to help pay for their wedding, then they plan to work for a non-profit for a year before heading to graduate school.
Crystal’s fondest memory of her ten years at MdTL- the fifteen minutes of quiet reading and writing time that were scheduled every day. She loved the freedom and flexibility to follow her own interests in choosing what she read and wrote about. Before she learned to write, she recalls telling her stories to older students who would write them down for her.
How was the transition to public middle school after MdTL? Initially, she felt lost in the crowd at a larger school and found moving from classroom to classroom to be disorienting. She was accustomed to having few students in her class and close relationships with her teachers who knew her well and provided lots of support. At middle school, she felt smothered by the lack of spontaneity and lack of freedom to pursue topics that interested her. Academically, middle and high school were easy. Although she received good grades from the start, grades were not her ultimate goal. She simply enjoys learning. Today, she continues to keep a list of things she wants to learn more about in her spare time.
Socially, Crystal is more comfortable one-on-one than in a group so the small size of her class at MdTL wasn’t a negative for her. She’s still in touch with several of her MdTL classmates. She didn’t have many friends outside of school and, in retrospect, wishes she had been more involved in extracurricular activities where she could have made more friends.
When Crystal went off to college she realized that she hadn’t felt such autonomy to pursue subjects of her choosing since her time at Montessori de Terra Linda. Her classes are small again allowing for discussions and a more intimate learning experience like at MdTL. Once again she’s been able to forge deep relationships with her professors.
Crystal’s least fondest memory of MdTL – hiking up the big hill by school! Although she complained about it, Crystal credits these frequent forays into nature with her love of the outdoors.
In her own words, “MdTL is a fantastic place to grow following your own natural development.”
