We’re Moving In



It’s a little later than most schools, but Southwestern Academy on Monday welcomed its latest crop of students for the Fall 2016 semester. From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. new and returning middle and high school students, from down the street and around the world, arrived, received their information packets, ID cards and dorm assignments, had hamburgers, and made friends.

“Today is very exciting for us, everyone is fresh and pressed, and ready to start,” exclaimed Ken Veronda, Headmaster of the school, which is beginning its 92nd academic year.

“We actually just finished our summer school last Friday, and we are like a cruise ship, welcoming new passengers,” said Veronda.

There are 173 students total on the campus, about 26 of whom will commute locally. The rest, according to Veronda, come from 36 different countries. Many of the students are from Asia, as well as a large number from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet bloc countries, as well as South and Central America.

The school offers a college-prep curriculum, specifically designed for UC acceptance, although, Veronda explained, “with this type of curriculum, students can really apply anywhere.”

For the last 15 years, at least, says Veronda, the school has enjoyed “100% college acceptance,” and, he says, “Many of the international students come here thinking only of UCLA and Harvard, not realizing the richness that California and the rest of the country has, education-wise.”

The private coed boarding school began in 1924 on a small barren lot with all boys, as was common at the time, Veronda explained. They began admitting girls in the 30s, and more so after the Second World War. There is also a 44 year-old sister campus in Sedona, Arizona, which also begins its semester this week.

‘We had horses on this campus, when we first started,” Verona chuckled, “but the City of San Marino didn’t really appreciate that, so then we opened our ‘outdoor’ campus in Arizona.” Some of the students actually rotate between the two campuses, he said.

Veronda was literally born on the campus, since his parents were teachers at the school, but he decided to take a turn at the Foreign Service, working for the State Department in the late 60s. He decided that was “boring,” and returned to Southwestern, where he has been, as he says, “temporarily ever since.” (The adjacent street is actually named for him.) He also teaches US Government and US History at the school.

And says Veronda, when asked the obvious question about the best part of being at Southwest, “It’s the kids, the kids, whether they come from some other country or across America, whether they’re generation Z, they have always been the same as you and I, half -afraid, half-cocky, and all of them scared to death.

“But we are small enough that each of us knows every student. Everyone can play on the soccer team, everyone can play baseball, and still have time to sing in the choir or be a student officer.”

Southwestern Academy, 2800 Monterey Rd, San Marino, (626) 799-5010 or visit www.southwesternacademy.edu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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