Inspiring story, involving a boarding school

Someone on here was recently asking for examples of good portrayals of boarding schools, in the wake of the SPS case. I came across this article earlier today, about the woman who does the “Fat Girl Running” blog. I’d heard about her, and her blog, but this in-depth article about her is really quite an amazing story. I immediately thought of the community here, as part of her back story is that she grew up in a challenging neighborhood in Brooklyn, went to the Masters School on a scholarship – where she discovered that (a) she’s an extremely talented singer, and (b) she had a love for sports and running, even though she’d never had any opportunity to play organized sports before and did not have a traditional body type for sports. Those two discoveries – beautifully nourished at the Masters School (including the teachers who gave her free music lessons and got her into a pre-college program at Juilliard) – completely changed the course of her life. I encourage everyone to read this story, and the next time someone asks why you’d send your kid to boarding school, tell them because things like this happen there. @SevenDad, this is for you in particular!

http://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/ultra

Thanks for sharing, soxmom. I finally made time to read the article (you were right, it is in-depth/long!) and am really glad I read it. I love the fact that Ms. Valerio (the subject of the piece) cites her teachers, peers, and overall experience at Masters (now co-ed, of course) as being so influential in her life. Worth reading for everyone, not just runners or BS-obsessed.

I’m going bang on my old tired drum here and say that so many prospective applicants (and their parents) seem to think that there are only 6 schools that can change the life of a student. And yet, here is an “off the radar” school that certainly seems to have made a difference in the life of a woman who is now making a difference in the lives of others. #doitwiththymight #gopanthers