To start this story, I feel like I have to give a bit of context. I was raised on an island in Southeast Alaska from the time I was 1 to 16 years old, in a town called Craig, AK.
My mom pulled my two siblings and me out of public school after my 6th-grade year and homeschooled us for two years. Homeschool was good for a time, but the curriculum was very easy for me, and I was often bored, which prompted our search for online schools.
The Search
I remember during the summer between my 8th grade and freshman year, my mom and I sat down and were looking—literally by Google search— for a good online school program. We came across a few, and I remember looking at OC Online Website for the first time. It had a lot of things that we were looking for, like rigorous academics, a Christian curriculum, and teachers that I could reach out to if I needed help on anything. I remember reading about the community aspect of OC Online, too, and I know that was one of the key determining factors to enroll. 
Though I read about the community aspect and the live classes on the OC Online website, I honestly still thought that OC Online was going to be similar to our other homeschool programs, with required reading and assignments, just online instead of out of books and on paper. What I didn’t expect was that within these live classes, I would actually find a sense of community and make friends. I never thought that an online community and these weekly Big Blue Button meetings could have such a huge impact on my life.
The Impact
I remember specifically in my 8th grade and freshman years having so many questions about God and the Bible that just weren’t being answered in church. Had I not attended OC Online, I would probably still be sitting with many of these questions. The theologically-sound Bible classes at OC Online helped me to better understand God, the Christian faith, and the Bible, which helped to grow my faith into what it is today. I had so many of my questions answered through these classes but also formed so many more as I went. These classes and teachers not only taught me about the Bible, but they also taught me how to study the Bible and how to live a spiritually rich life through spiritual practices and disciplines.
The Spiritual Life community incorporated the spiritual part of the Christian faith and brought me together with so many wonderful people. It taught me the importance of having a faith community. There was also theology incorporated into every single class I took, which helped to connect the world to God, made it that much easier to grow my faith, and gave me so much awe of the Lord.
It’s crazy how the Spiritual Life themes fit my life so well. I remember my freshman year, it was “Hospitality”, which was perfect when it came to learning about what Oaks is. The community is so welcoming and fosters an environment where I was able to learn and grow spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually, while keeping it fun and engaging. I then learned how to extend this type of hospitality to other people as well. My sophomore year, the theme was “Resiliency”, which I didn’t even know I needed. As we dove into learning about it, I began to notice that I needed to build this skill. God certainly planned that one, because the next year, I used a lot of the skills and principles I learned in that course to get through a tough time. Headed into junior year, I was put in a frustrating situation where I needed to practice humility. At the time, this was incredibly difficult for me. I remember meeting with Mrs. Farinacci before the school year started, and she asked me if I needed prayer for anything. This is actually the beginning of one of the coolest God moments for me because I told her I needed prayer for humility, and what was the Spiritual Life theme of the year? “Humility”! It was absolutely wild learning that, but it was so faith-building because it was a moment that God revealed to me a different way that He provides. I used to think of God providing in terms of things like food, water, and life necessities. I never really connected that He also provides us with the tools and skills that we need to grow until that moment. My senior year Spiritual Life theme was “Creativity”, which again was just perfect. It was a great way to end my high school experience because it was so much fun to learn about. Years prior, Spiritual Life helped me work through some hard things, but I really enjoyed learning about God’s creativity and how it connects to our creativity. It was just such an uplifting theme to end on. Looking back on these themes and how they applied to my life makes me so grateful and, honestly, just in awe of how God can work through this school and in my life.
OC Online not only helped me to get to know God and others better, but it helped me to get to know myself better. There are many assignments, especially in the Bible and Spiritual Life classes, that really make you sit back and think about your life. I found that as I did this, I was able to recognize areas that I thrive in, areas where I struggle, and build up strength in my weaknesses.
OC Online as a whole changed the trajectory of my life, both spiritually and academically. I really do not think I would be where I am today without OC Online, and I likely would not have as many opportunities as I do now without OC Online. I count this community and this school as one of my greatest blessings in life, and I hope that it can be the same for others.
Campus & Graduation
Another fond memory was going on a trip to the founder, Dallas’s, house after I completed the AP Art History class. That was such an amazing trip because I really didn’t realize how big OC Online was until I went down to California to visit. The campus is absolutely gorgeous, but it was really just the number of people I saw who were involved in this school. The number of lives that I saw this school affecting just made me so happy because it has had such a positive impact on my life. I just want to share this school with as many people as I possibly can because it has been such a blessing in my life.
Last but not least, I absolutely loved meeting my classmates and teacher in person at the Joi Café (in Westlake) before graduation. It was so much fun to sit and talk with them and hear about where my friends were headed after graduation, and to meet their families. Graduation is super, super special and fun! I highly recommend to all the current students of OC Online to try to attend in person. I promise you won’t regret it.
Future OC Online Students
I think that prospective students would be curious about the community aspect of this school, specifically Spiritual Life and Student Life. I know I was. I sort of mentioned this before, but I really did not expect the amazing relationships coming my way. At first, connecting with people online may seem kind of strange, but after a while, a connection begins to form, and you can make some really cool friendships. I know I did, and finally, after four years of being friends with these people, I got to meet them in person at graduation. Overall, I think prospective students would be surprised by how interactive and personal OC Online is, even though it is an online school.
