You were in traditional education before starting Riverside. How did you end up in education if you felt so dissatisfied with it as a youth?

I jumped around from school to school as a boy mainly because I was very restless and did not fit into the system that well. I could not sit still in school, and to this day I still have a letter from my sixth-grade teacher that was sent to my parents claiming that I was causing intense disturbances in class. I did not ever seem to click in most of the schools I attended and was either asked to leave, or my parents just tried to find a better fit. They were always patient with me although I am sure I caused them lots of anxiety. There were of course moments I remember fondly, like being part of a 1950s musical as a sixth grader, playing competitive basketball and baseball on a variety of school teams, or naturalist programs at a school in Potomac, Maryland. But in general I just never enjoyed most of my school experience, and wish I had some intense arts training or outdoor adventure experiences as part of my educational experience. 

I thought that something was wrong with me because that seemed to be the message sent loud and clear while I attended most of the institutions. After high school, I worked odd jobs here and there and practiced guitar with reckless abandon. It was only when I visited my brother James at the University of Dallas and witnessed a brotherhood rooted in deep learning and creative experiences that I decided to re-enter academia and attend my now Alma Mater, UD. 

It took me a couple of years to finally take it seriously because I still really wanted to be a musician, but soon I learned to love the liberal arts and the deep friendships that one could form studying the classics. However, it still was not the creative and imaginative culture I yearned for. And so after college, I wandered a bit trying to find my way, playing music, trying my hand at writing, and working as a teacher. I realized I found a connection with teaching boys, and finding ways to engage their restlessness, their desire for adventure, brotherhood, and imagination. However, I still felt restless as a teacher in standard schools and kept wondering what I was supposed to do. It was only after years of teaching that I began to see that the most meaningful experiences for these boys and myself were connected to the creative and imaginative side of learning, adventure in the outdoors, and developing creative fellowships rooted in meaningful experiences. So I began to question the educational