Who Is Geneva?

Emily and Michael Allen (TGS Parents)

When we learned that we would be moving to Central Florida, a good friend of ours told us that there was only one school to consider, The Geneva School. We went into our oldest son’s K4 year thinking, “We will just try this for a while,” but after two days we knew that we weren’t going anywhere.

In the summer of 2019 we were blessed to be able to spend several weeks in Cambridge, England.  We knew that this was a once in a lifetime experience, so we made sure to take full advantage of the trip with our then five- and nine-year-old boys. We experienced every museum that Cambridge has to offer along with stops in London, Edinburgh, and Paris.

• While in the Zoological Museum in Cambridge, our five-year-old son stopped to examine and sketch the skeletons of various animals because his art and science teachers had taught him how to stop, observe, and recreate God’s creation.
• While in the National Museum of Scotland, our nine-year-old son translated the ancient hieroglyphics for us based upon what he had learned in second grade about ancient Egypt.
• While in the Louvre in Paris, our nine-year-old would see a bust in the ancient Greek and Roman displays and exclaim in delight because he “knew” those people because he had “met” them in third grade studying ancient Greece and Rome.
• While at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, our boys took pictures with the knights of armor in anticipation of when they will become Geneva Knights.
• While attending Saint Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh where John Knox preached and the Presbyterian Church was started, our two boys sang hymns from their hearts, hymns that they have memorized over the years from church and school.

We were blessed with the opportunity to spend this time in Europe. Our time away from the States showed us parts of a rich history that has shaped us. Our time away from our normal lives pointed us towards our magnificent creator and sustainer as well as reminded us why we chose The Geneva School for our boys. At every turn, our children were teaching us because they had been loved and taught so well by their teachers at Geneva.

Martin White (Class of 2021)

How did our family come to join the Geneva community? When our oldest Martin was two years old, we were talking at the playground with some good neighborhood friends of ours about school options. They were leaving to check out a prestigious school even though the boys were just two. We tagged along and that night we fell in love with The Geneva School. We were captured by the philosophy and curriculum and our only disappointment was that we had to wait until Martin was four to enroll him!

Our family, not unlike many other families in our community, serves in vocational ministry. So Martin, growing up as a pastor’s son, has been consistently exposed to God’s word. As you might imagine, this can bring with it a special challenge: how do we ensure that Martin remains enamored by the beauty of the gospel? This was a question we monitored closely as Martin grew up.

It has been a pleasure to watch Martin grow—not only academically, but also in his spiritual hunger and interest in God’s Word. Geneva is very intentional with each student and I’ve seen this play out time and again in Martin’s life. He’s had so many great teachers pour into him; teachers who recognized and helped develop his strengths while also caring enough to come alongside him to fine-tune his areas of weakness.

One of the best things that I believe the school does in the early years is the end-of-year ceremonies. The teacher speaks a blessing into the life of each child. Some years the blessing takes the form of a written prayer, other years it’s a special award. But in either case, the blessings are personalized and specific to that child’s character. One of the cool things about this is that Martin has had an opportunity to hear from several teachers and coaches over the years that he has the gift of leadership. It has been one of the traits that his teachers have consistently pointed out. This has helped us as parents to encourage this gift and to challenge him to live up to it. Martin’s not numb to spiritual things because the gospel isn’t “sprinkled on” at TGS, it is woven throughout the curriculum so that thinking Christians are produced here. I’m proud of the man that Martin is becoming and thank The Geneva School for the role it has played, and continues to play, in his formation.

Now that Martin is in his senior year, we are gratified to see him taking responsibility for his current school career and also making wise decisions about his future. He balances academics and athletics, as well as his other interests. His relationships, not just with his classmates but also with his teachers, are helping him to define and become the type of man he wants to be. We are excited about the next chapter that God has in store for Martin, and we are confident that Geneva’s fingerprints will be all over it.

Sally Park (Class of 2019)

Currently studying business (marketing and finance) at New York University Shanghai with dreams and aspirations to spread empathy and serve others.

I did not merely learn how to take a derivative, how to calculate velocities, or how to translate French. I learned so much more: how to grow, how to care, and how to love. The teachers did not teach me how to succeed and rise to the top. They taught me how to help others and, more importantly, learn from others. But by doing this my community taught me to love learning. Without the support and encouragement I received from the Geneva community, I never could have gained the courage to run for leadership positions, found clubs, or start my own photography business.

However, looking back on the entirety of my Geneva education, I realize it is this that I truly took to heart, what I will continue to carry in my heart—Mr. Jain telling our Scientific Revolution class the four Ws: work, worship, wisdom, and wonder. I learned how to work, both for myself and for others. I learned how to worship. I learned the difference between knowledge and wisdom. And my wonder was not satisfied but multiplied throughout high school. My curiosity of how large earth really is—not just the physical size of the space in which God placed us but my wonder for other cultures, other people, other lifestyles grew to measures I cannot count. My craving and wonder for what this world holds for me cannot be satisfied, and I am beyond thankful for that new way of seeing.

Having learned and applied those four Ws is how I define my classical education. And I can gladly say that it has more than prepared me for my future.

I was once a very timid and fearful kid but now that fear is no longer present. I can look back on my high school education with satisfaction and on my future without hesitation.

Grant Brodrecht (Upper School History Teacher)

I suppose I am a little embarrassed to answer this question, because it is so autobiographical, but here goes. I think the short answer to the question “Why do you teach?” is because I love learning so much, and I love sharing with students what I have learned (and am learning) about life. And that desire to learn and share flows from a sense of service and charity. But to understand what I mean, you have to realize that I didn’t have much in the way of an education while growing up in the 1970s and early 1980s; I suppose you could say I was the victim of low expectations—and so I joined the Navy. But it was, perhaps ironically, during my time in the Navy that a love of both learning and teaching emerged.

Training to be an electronics technician and a nuclear reactor operator exposed me to areas of knowledge and required things of me that I had never experienced; it was during that time that my approach to learning was indelibly shaped. And subsequently, in my capacity as a work-center supervisor on board a couple of ships (thus responsible for training others), I came to experience the joy of passing along what I had learned. After six years in the Navy, it’s probably fair to say that I also developed a bit of a chip on my shoulder regarding the education that I sensed I had never received growing up, and so you could say further that I went off to college with a vengeance. 

I began an electrical engineering degree, but then I became a Christian, and another new world opened up to me. My educational focus and aspirations changed to history, philosophy, and theology, and from that point, education took on even more meaning. Although the plan was to remain teaching at the college level, having five children reminded my wife and I of the crucial, fundamental importance of pre-collegiate education, especially regarding Christian formation. 

And so here I am, teaching at The Geneva School rather than at a college. Although I am far more of a realist than an idealist, I nevertheless continue to learn and continue to strive to share good and important things with young men and women who are far ahead of where I was at their age.

Brooke Riley (Class of 2015)

Wisdom with determination is a powerful combination. Brooke Riley prayed for and practiced both over and over again during her thirteen years at The Geneva School. After graduating as salutatorian of her senior class and earning a BS in Physics from Davidson College, NC, she is now pursuing an Actuarial Studies Certificate at University of North Carolina at Charlotte and recognizes what a gift her Geneva education was for her.

When asked how Geneva prepared her for college, Brooke says, “Everything I learned at TGS, whether in the classroom, on a field trip, or through sports was valuable and shaped me into the person I am. The substance of the curriculum was incredible, and it is what makes Geneva different. It taught me to look at everything in light of Christ, to think philosophically, and not accept things at a surface level. I am well equipped to vocalize my thoughts and ideas, as well as defend my faith.”

“Geneva gave me so many ‘God moments.’ Studying theology was an amazing opportunity, one that many schools don’t offer to their students. I’m a very analytical person so this helped me to grow in my faith. At Geneva, we learned to incorporate God into our thinking. Even math class was linked back to God and his work here on earth,” Brooke says.

Ravi Jain, who has taught Scientific Revolution, AP Calculus, and AP Physics at Geneva since 2003, called Brooke a fearless analytical thinker. He says, “Brooke approached problem solving much like mastering her volleyball serve. She just kept at it until she got it, hit a new rhythm of understanding, and then helped others get it too. With respect to academic pursuits, she valued the community and loved to help her classmates.”

A leader on the volleyball court, Brooke and the Geneva varsity Lady Knights competed in the 2A Final Four state competition in 2013 and reached the final 16 in 2014. Her experience on the volleyball court had important take-aways. Brooke says, “Playing volleyball taught me the value of teamwork, discipline, and selflessness, which can all be applied in the classroom, in learning, and in helping others. You can make a big difference in someone’s life by just setting a good example.

Brooke completed her Actuarial Studies Certificate from UNC Charlotte and is currently an actuarial associate in the Actuarial Development Program at Hannover Life Reassurance Company of America in Orlando.

Chris Cox (Class of 2014)

“My father loved God and wanted me to have a strong personal relationship with him and to share that with others. He also wanted me to work hard at all I do and become a strong man of God.”

“Through the years, Geneva shaped me mentally and spiritually. My teachers and coaches were the godly role models I needed as I was growing up. Although this didn’t fill the void of being fatherless, they inspired me to be the man my father would have wanted me to be,” he said.

Chris excelled in Bible, rhetoric, and English courses, where he enjoyed classroom discussions about the search for truth and “leaving no stone unturned.” An avid reader, Chris also credits his years of Latin for an exponential growth in vocabulary and other languages.

Chris and his wife Mackenzie now reside in Chattanooga, TN, where he is the assistant tennis coach at Covenant College. He is also pursuing studies at Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary.

Chris summed up his Geneva take-away by repeating this prayer said at the close of the upper school chapel:

Let it be known to all who enter here that Christ is the reason for this school,
The unseen, but ever-present teacher in its classrooms;
The model of its staff, and the inspiration of it’s students.