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Located on the north shore of Indiana’s Lake Maxinkuckee, Culver Academies provides the best whole-person education in the world. It’s a bold claim but one the school founded in 1894 has a good track record of upholding.
Surrounded by 1,800 acres of green hills and pristine woodlands, this is where 835 students gain a deep understanding of every course they take and develop the leadership skills to make an impact on the world — like many of their seniors before them did. Among Culver’s notable alumni are a bureau chief for the New York Times, a two-term governor of Indiana, and the founder of The Weather Channel.
Current student Natalia Somma-Tang is on her way to join their ranks. “I lead many different clubs on campus, all tailored to my own interests, and that has allowed me to delve deeper into what I’m specifically most passionate about and become a leader in that sense,” she says.
How does Culver empower students in grades nine to 12 to achieve bigger things and seize opportunities in various fields? Ask graduates and the answers often point to a various mix of factors. Its rural location is safe and secure. It’s also a conducive ground to build character. Co-curricular activities sharpen life-long values. Facilities, educational, athletic, or otherwise, are world-class, evoke the feel of an Ivy League rather than a high school.
A better way to understand how Culver students become high achievers, but not at the expense of their well-being, lies in how the school remains committed to its mission: developing and nurturing the whole individual – mind, spirit, and body.
Mind
Last year, Culver Academies shortened its daily schedule by 30 minutes to give students more time to sleep. This aligns with the school’s own Emotional Wellness Working Group’s efforts to lessen student anxiety and create a more positive learning experience.
“The average amount of sleep students were reporting was six to seven hours a night,” Dean Dr. Jackie Carrillo said . “They should be getting between eight and 10 hours. So, our goal is to give them the chance to sleep nine hours.”
Their cellphone policy is another strategy by the group. It limits the use of smartphones on campus grounds to reduce distraction and increase social interaction. Together Tuesdays, on the other hand, are where students gather to talk about the stresses they face in or outside of school. Not only are these efforts great to keep students’ mental and emotional states in check, but they also serve as important and long-lasting life lessons.
The school’s Spiritual Life programme stands out because of the number of services it offers regardless of students’s religious beliefs. Source: Culver Academies
Spirit
The school’s Spiritual Life programme offers a variety of integrated clubs, traditional worship services, and contemplative practices. These allow students to self-reflect on who they are, where they belong, what they value, and what they believe in.
With a parent or a guardian, all students are required to choose and attend one of the 45-minute Spiritual Life services weekly. These include Guided Meditation, Interdenominational Christian Chapel, Islamic Studies, Jewish Shabbat Service, Nature Spirituality, Philosophers’ Café, Roman Catholic Mass, Unitarian Universalist, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
“I run a club on campus called Satsang which is a meditation and spiritual philosophy discussion group,” says Tang. “And Satsang is a lot of fun in that it brings together students from all different faith backgrounds to engage in mindfulness and reflection and some lively but light discussion on topics of interest to us.”
The Protestant Youth Group, Catholic Youth Group, Narrative Bible Study, Catholic Confirmation Class, Interfaith Youth Council, The Breakfast Club, Pastoral Care, Academic & Athletic Integrative Programmes, and Quranic Studies are other clubs that students can participate in. “We have students from all over the world, yet we can all come together with shared values and the virtues of Culver,” says Director of Spiritual Life Sam Boys.
Body
Athleticism and sportsmanship are a big part of a Culver education too — with as many as 82% of students participating in athletics. Whether on the field, ice, court, or track, there are various state-of-the-art sports facilities and equipment that will help shape them into champions regardless of their experience. They can be an experienced competitor aiming to go pro or a casual athlete seeking a fun new challenge — either way, students can choose from 65 sports teams to join, including ice hockey, rowing, lacrosse, sailing, fencing, and polo.
Perhaps the school’s greatest sports asset is its team of coaches. “I hate to brag, but Culver Academies’ track and field programme claims a coaching crew besting any independent school in the nation,” says Scott F. Johnson, a graduate who’s now Director of Marketing & Communications and Assistant Track & Field Coach. “Our current squad of seven coaches boasts 165 years of combined coaching experience. For context, that’s 37 more years than our school has been in existence and over twice as long as the Soviet Union was a country.”
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