This post is part of the Where Are They Now series in which we hear the stories of long-time Sonlight users who are now thriving young adults.

Megan Simlia Then and Now

As a homeschooled student, Megan Simila's family traveled across the U.S. four times and she continued her travels internationally as an adult. She earned an M.A. in Child and Adolescent Counseling at the University of Cambridge in England. After her completion of that course, she taught in an American school in one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico for three years and reached out to children in low-income scenarios. She now lives in Boise, Idaho and works with first generation low-income high school students.

Homeschooled since first grade, Megan found that homeschooling served as a stabilizer in a life of transition. She credits a good grounding in basic philosophy helped her engage diverse ideas in her graduate education. She enjoys traveling the world, volunteering at her church, and teaching.

"Reading about various missionaries who traveled to different cultures made it less scary for me to go overseas. I really appreciate the historical viewpoint Sonlight gives so you can see how cultures have changed over time. It helps you put yourself on a continuum and understand that your culture is not the only culture that has value.

"The philosophies and viewpoints we read in Sonlight helped me even as I did my Master's degree at Cambridge. As I examined various theories, I still referred back to basic philosophies and works of literature I studied with Sonlight. It definitely prepared me for a Cambridge education.

"My passion is to work with low-income students in impoverished areas. I love teaching and the opportunity to impact kids lives for the better.”

Cambridge Grad Helps Low-income Students Forge a Better Future

Now Megan works with a program called Upward Bound for low-income students, and she’s also pursuing a PhD. program through Boise State that will expand on the work she’s doing.

The population she works with are called first generation kids. That means almost all of the students she works with will be the first in their families to attain a college education.

Many of them struggle with difficult family scenarios and she is able to help them with college prep skills, give them math and SAT practice, and just be an advocate. A part of that training includes teaching them how to give back to the community and become a contributing citizen.

“They call me their ‘school mom,’” laughs Megan. “They call me at midnight and know I care. They know they can talk to me about what ’s difficult. This past year I had a student whose dad had been incarcerated and his mom was on drugs, and he was basically homeless for a portion of the year.”

She talks about how it difficult it can be to concentrate on studying when the simple things of life like transportation and safe relationships and shelter are in question. “With just basic living hurdles it’s amazing they can get to school.”

Megan makes sure these students have someone in their corner: “The Bible talks a lot about God's heart for the widow and the orphans ... I just want to have God's heart for these kids.

“My dad is also first generation—only one of seven children in his family to have a college education and he broke that barrier. That inspires me to break that barrier with my students. I want to help them forge a better future.”

Do you have a story about your grown Sonlighter? We love catching up with long-time Sonlight users who are now thriving young adults. Email your story and photos to stories@sonlight.com.

This post is part of the Where Are They Now series in which we hear the stories of long-time Sonlight users who are now thriving young adults.

Scott, his wife Audrey, and two sons tour Italy while Scott serves as a military prosecutor.

Scott was homeschooled from Kindergarten through 12th grade mostly using Sonlight curriculum. He recounts, "Through my homeschool education, I gained a Christ-centered and well-balanced worldview, an ability and desire to learn independently, and a perspective on education that extended far beyond the walls of any classroom.

“I really appreciate how experiential my homeschool education was. I found the ability to learn through a variety of hands-on experiences to be excellent preparation for success in college and beyond. The Sonlight curriculum and scholarship were both very influential in my academic and spiritual growth and development.”

Harvard Law Grade Serves Abroad

Passionate about educational equality, Scott completed a Master's of Education and served as Teach for America Corps Member where he taught eighth grade algebra to low income students before attending Harvard Law School.

Scott McIntosh graduated from Harvard Law School in 2013 and joined the Army JAG Corps, where he's been serving for the past 4 1/2 years.

He's currently stationed in Vicenza, Italy, with his wife, Audrey, and their two boys, Dylan (4) and Austin (2).

In this photo, Scott's sons Dylan (4) and Austin (2) giggle and try on Scott's beret before he heads off to his work serving as a military prosecutor.

Scott is a military prosecutor, responsible for advising commanders about maintaining good order and discipline in their units, and for prosecuting crimes at Army Court-Martials. Scott says of his job, "It's a really challenging and rewarding job, and I love working with people who have a shared commitment to public service.  We've had a blast traveling around Europe during our time stationed in Italy, too!”

Sonlight's Next Generation

"Our boys go to an Italian Asilo (preschool) and think pasta three meals a day is normal," jokes Scott. "We've used the Sonlight Pre-K program with Dylan the past couple of years. It's been such a joy to re-read many of my childhood favorites with him, and to see his love for learning grow so quickly at such a young age."

Do you have a story about your grown Sonlighter? We love catching up with long-time Sonlight users who are now thriving young adults. Email your story and photos to stories@sonlight.com.

This post is part of the Where Are They Now series in which we hear the stories of long-time Sonlight users who are now thriving young adults.

Heather and Autumn embrace at Autumn's graduation.

Former Sonlighter Autumn L just graduated summa cum laude from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, with a degree in Industrial Technology (in the college of Business).

Her proud father, Rusty L of CA, wrote to tell us about the graduation: "Autumn used Sonlight curriculum from 2nd grade all the way through high school, and I've got to tell you it was a big part of her success academically!"

Heather and Autumn adventure together as Sonlight homeschool students growing up.

When Ronda and Rusty watched their little toddler first realize that words had meaning, she was hungry to learn. Afraid she might be bored in traditional school and at the encouragement of another homeschooling family, they starting looking into homeschooling and eventually found Sonlight.

"We didn't want to quench their natural curiosity," says Rusty. "Autumn had such a love for learning and we wanted her to keep that. So many kids get that sucked out of them and they lose themselves in devices. Our girls are curious and love to read. The research skills, critical thinking, and just the love for good books and learning has stayed with them and we give a lot of credit to the Sonlight education for that love of learning.

"We used Math-U-See, Sonlight Science, Real Science for Kids, but their love of reading and learning came from all the wonderful Sonlight books. We also really appreciated the focus on critical thinking and also the research skills the girls developed through Sonlight."

Although both girls are studying science-related fields in college, they have both developed strengths in art, poetry and photography as well.

Autumn says "Sonlight curriculum gave me a solid background in English language and literature that allowed me to excel in college."

Autumn (22) actually works as the photographer for Cal Poly College of Business and does her own photography as well.

Heather (17) graduates from high school in June and she already has extensive college credit that she earned from junior college while continuing to homeschool.

She scored in the 99th percentile in most standardized tests, is a National Merit Commended scholar, and is looking at majors in computer science or applied computer science.

Heather says:

"My favorite thing about Sonlight has been and will always be the books. Each grade provided me with dozens of new, exciting stories. For years, my mom would read to me, bringing characters to life in my mind. I loved listening to her so much that I would beg for ‘just one more chapter!’ It didn't even have to be me she was reading to—I would sneak into the living room and listen to her read to my sister. Many times I would remember plot points or certain sentences, recognizing them five years later, when she finally read them to me. I've kept many of those books, remembering and loving them even now.

“Yet Sonlight was more than just plot twists, the smell of new books, and the joy of reading. They used the books I loved to teach me spelling, grammar, literary analysis, syntax, foreshadowing, poetic structure, alliteration, and much, much more. Last year, I took the SAT and ACT, and English was by far my best subject. I also took the AP English Language and Composition test, scoring a 4. Since Sonlight contains the only English courses I ever took, I think it's fair to say that they taught me well. More than that, though, they made me enjoy learning.”

Do you have a story about your grown Sonlighter? We love catching up with long-time Sonlight users who are now thriving young adults. Email your story and photos to stories@sonlight.com.

This post is part of the Where Are They Now series in which we hear the stories of long-time Sonlight users who are now thriving young adults.

Have you ever heard of Andrew Viterbi? Probably not. He’s the person who designed the algorithm that makes your cell phone work. Viterbi is an inspiration to Garrison Crouch, former Sonlighter and a PhD. Candidate at the University of Notre Dame. Like Viterbi, Garrison’s passion is to innovate nanotechnology in ways that influence the daily lives of a significant portion of the people on earth.

He’s served as a NASA Space Technology Research Fellow, published his findings as member of the Bohn Research Group of Notre Dame, served fellow students through campus ministry with CRU, and even volunteers in a program where he helps undergrads build chemically-powered cars.

His parents Sandra and Gary don’t have a formal scientific background, but always encouraged Garrison to find resources to keep learning in his areas of interests. During their homeschooling years with Sonlight, they focused on a strong relationships with him, but encouraged him to be a self-directed learner.

Garrison’s advice to parents and students on the homeschool journey?

“Don't be afraid of failing or of not knowing everything. Some of my best experiences were of failures at first.”  In high school, Garrison spent a lot of time building and tinkering in the family garage. He even built an electric bicycle—a great feat—except for one thing. “I forgot to reconnect the brakes. I noticed this mistake when i was hurtling toward my neighbor's truck at 20 miles per hour and couldn't stop.

“Don’t be afraid that you won’t do everything perfectly from the beginning. My parents weren't afraid to say "I don't know. Go try to figure out the right answer and this served me well."

Do you have a story about your grown Sonlighter? We love catching up with long-time Sonlight users who are now thriving young adults. Email your story and photos to stories@sonlight.com.