Clairbourn graduates are LEADERS who are not afraid to speak up, listen, question and make a difference in the world.

Jeanette Zamora
One of Justin’s well-known characteristics at Clairbourn was his eagerness to try new things. This eagerness certainly continued throughout his high school years as well. He was able to try his hand at several different jobs over the summers such as fruit packing in the fruit district of downtown LA at 5 in the morning, running a high-traffic lego booth at the largest LEGO convention in Pasadena twice a year, researching design materials and building scale models while interning with an architect, and perfecting his excel skills as a business analyst for an online advertising firm. The Covid school year made classwork tough for a lot of seniors, but Justin also experienced it from the teacher’s point of view when he developed and taught a couple of 8-hour courses to middle schoolers, via Zoom, on the History of War.


Justin also explored a variety of study programs over the summers.
The NC State Design Camp exposed him to five different facets of design (architecture, graphic design, art & design, landscape, and industrial design). The University of Chicago introduced him to innovation through the interdisciplinary study of economics, entrepreneurship, and the sciences. He was able to further his interest in global citizenship when he studied present-day issues through the lenses of economic, legal, and political theory as a Young Yale Global Scholar.
 
It's no surprise that Justin continued to play goalie for Prep during his 4 years there. But he also picked up some other interests that have stuck with him, such as heading to the nearest climbing gym to practice his bouldering and sewing his own clothes. 

Left: Participating in Design Challenge / Right: Buddy reading with a lower school student

Justin already knew 4 years ago that he would take a gap year.
 There were just so many more things he wanted to do. In the fall of his gap year, he will road-trip across the US exploring Americana and visiting his friends in college. For the ski season, he will become a snowboarding bum and work for SkiCo. He’s not sure yet what job they will give him – ski lift operator, ticket sales, restaurant work, etc – but he’s hoping for retail sales. In the spring he will get his Wilderness First Responder certification, and then head to Peru for 2 months to build houses. And when summer comes back around, he’s looking forward to catching up with all his friends home from college once again.

When we asked Justin about some of his favorite memories,
he responded, “I loved the Design Challenges in middle school. Those were great. PE was always super fun. And I’ll always remember Mrs. Wreede’s ticket reward system and bidding on the gumball machines.”

Left: Justin was no. 11 on the school basketball team. / Right: Participating at a sports meet
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Private School Education for Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary School, & Middle School Grades - Serving Families in the Pasadena Area and Surrounding Cities
Clairbourn is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. (K-12 Private Schools)