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Short Bio
Twins Nicolas and Jasmine:

Nicolas personally had a hard time in Primary school. Being an out of the box thinker, Nicolas felt like an outcast while interacting with both teachers and other students because of feeling not understood. It wasn’t until the age of 12, when Nicolas was able to transfer to a Charter Middle/High school, that things started to change. The School was founded by a Principal who was inspired to open the School after reading A.S. Neill’s Summerhill book many years before. It offered independent study with generally only one hour a week of required attendance. For the following six years, Nicolas had very kind and supportive teachers who treated everyone equally. Because of this, Nicolas was able to grow and expand unhindered, and through special school programs to enroll in college early at the age of 16.

As a child, Jasmine excelled with studies in school thanks to private tutors who found a way to offer entertaining education. At 9 years old Jasmine told their Mom (who was the daughter of a lawyer) that they no longer wanted to go to school because it’s boring and they are not learning anything new beyond what they already learn through private tutoring. Jasmine’s Mom said that they have to go to school because it is required by law. Soon after, Jasmine’s parents purchased a personal computer and Jasmine took a dive into the world of digital games finding new educational entertainment. Also Jasmine’s Aunt gave Jasmine A.S. Neill’s Summerhill book which became a beacon of light and gave hope that one day Jasmine would go to Summerhill.

Nicolas and Jasmine met through a mutual friend who also shared their interest in alternative education. They felt an instant connection as they both deeply care about the importance of childhood freedom as well as maintaining that lifelong childlike sense of fun so they continued their journey together. By utilizing multimedia, they created ecological and interactive educational events for all ages for their nonprofit project and also interviewed people from over 30 countries around the world after wanting to open a Summerhill-like school in Cape Town, South Africa. Their childhood dreams came true when they traveled to the UK and interviewed Zoe and Henry at the Summerhill School. They are now very excited to be a part of the Summerhill team.