Featured Alumni

Mt. Helix Academy is pleased and proud to put a spotlight on its families, who care so very much about their children’s education, academically and socially, that they sacrifice to have their children attend Mt. Helix Academy. We are also proud of our graduates, many of whom have distinguished themselves in high school and in college.

Alumni: We want to hear from you
We devote this page of our website to honoring our graduates. We continue to see many of them during breaks from their high school and college years. Several return each year to assist with our summer programs. Whether we have seen you recently or not, please let us know how you are doing. We are proud of you.

This page currently features the Kellett family and the Siegel-Lounsbury family. That’s seven children in all who have attended Mt. Helix Academy, six of whom are graduates. Here are brief accounts of the progress these alumni are making in their highly successful lives.

The Kelletts • a family extrodinaire
Mt. Helix Academy is proud to feature the Kellett family. All three of their children, Hunter, Rebecca, and Mason, and their “adopted” daughter, Emily Dindial, attended Mt. Helix Academy for at least part of their elementary and middle school years. Dad, Charlie, a financial advisor in private practice, held the post of Treasurer for the PTG. Mom, Susan, was TIEE’s Director of Special Education for several years and now is an administrator for San Diego City Schools. What follows is an update on each of their children, including Abraham, a previously homeless adolescent who the Kelletts took in to their family. Their stories are inspiring and we are so very pleased that Mt. Helix Academy played a role in their successes.

Hunter
“Mt. Helix fostered and refined many of the basic educational skills that I had not been taught previously but would need to be successful in the future. Even today, I use many of those study and organizational skills in the workplace.

Prior to entering Mt. Helix, I lacked a strong foundation in basic reading, writing, math, and spelling skills. But only five years later, when I reentered the local public school, I found myself far ahead of my peers and this allowed me to be successful in high school, college, and even graduate school.”

Hunter started attending Mt. Helix Academy (then called Coleman Preparatory School) in 1995, the year after TIEE acquired the school, as a 4th grader, and he remained through his middle school years. He was well prepared for the rigor of AP classes in high school and had several scholarship offers to colleges far and near. He chose USC where he was a student leader and graduated with honors. Hunter then received a full scholarship for a masters program at Georgia State University in Atlanta and began a paid intern position for the Georgia State legislature as a budget analyst at the ripe old age of 22. The youngest in his office by far, he has quickly earned the reputation for being a hard worker and a very willing learner. Within months of becoming part of the analyst team, he was hired full time.

While attending graduate school and completing his degree in public administration, he quickly earned the respect of his colleagues and the elected officials who govern the state. Professionally, Hunter has the skills and confidence to take on any challenge and it all started with his school success in La Mesa! If only his stellar education could help him with his biggest challenge – the deep-south weather!

Rebecca
“Among the many skills I learned at Mt. Helix Academy, the basic study skills proved to be the most important. Learning how to study and take notes at such an early age allowed me to refine those skills and be successful in my high school and college courses. While to me, study skills were second nature, many of my college classmates lacked organizational skills and techniques for retaining information that made even the simplest tasks more challenging. In addition to academic skills, I learned what an education should be like and how to build strong relationships with my teachers to get that education. In high school and college, reaching out to teachers and showing them that I care about my performance in school made them more willing to go out of their way to provide help. Mt. Helix Academy taught me the importance of a strong teacher-student relationship in being successful in any subject in school.”

Rebecca was a sponge when it came to learning. She started at Mt. Helix Academy in the 2nd grade and excelled academically and socially through the middle school, especially in math. When she completed the 8th grade, she was ready to go into precalculus in high school! She also loved the experiences she had at TIEE as a peer mentor for students at the Cook Education Center and the eight summers she was a counselor at Mt. Helix Academy. Rebecca was very fortunate to have several offers of college scholarships around the United States. Clemson University was her school of choice where she experienced life at a large southern university in a small college town. Majoring in sociology, she graduated in May 2010. Wanting to attend graduate school but undecided as to which career path to take, Rebecca decide to relocate to Dupont Circle, the hub of Washington, DC. She works at a large school that serves children and young adults with special needs similar to some programs at TIEE. She loves the students, her colleagues and has so many friends and visitors that she has a very full and busy life.

Emily
“Attending Mt. Helix Academy helped me get back on track educationally. I also developed close-knit group of friends who are still an intregral part of my life.”

Emily has been Rebecca’s best friend since the age of two and spent most weekends with the Kellett family growing up. Eventually, differences with her family made it an easy choice for her to become part of the Kellett family. She started attending Mt. Helix Academy in the middle of her 7th grade year. An extremely smart student, she had been attending a school where humiliation and punishment were making school unpleasant for her. At Mt. Helix Academy, she was surrounded by close friends and supportive staff, and she started to fill in her educational gaps. The middle school, then under the direction of Director Collins, became an integral part of Emily and Rebecca’s life. They had middle school trips, parties and sleepovers at the Kellett house – they were a very bonded group. This tight knit group of peers helped launch Emily into a successful high school experience and she recently graduated from the University of Arizona with a double major in Latin American Studies and sociology. She presently is living and working in New York City at Bloomingdale’s and is planning to attend law school in the near future. Emily is an amazing young woman who has the drive and passion to make a positive difference in the world.

Mason
“Mt. Helix helped me improve in all my subject areas and allows me to be one of the top performers in my Scripps Ranch High School freshman class. Thanks to Mt. Helix Academy, I am known as someone others can look up to in and out of the classroom.”

Mason was lucky to start his educational journey at Mt. Helix Academy. From kindergarten through the 6th grade, he benefitted from outstanding instruction so never had to play catch-up as his older brother did. He has always loved school, so doing homework and excelling in school became his goals at a very young age. While at Mt. Helix Academy, he represented the school at the Invention Convention in 2nd grade and the San Diego County Science Fair in 6th grade. When he transferred to Marshall Middle School, he was a ‘top 10’ finalist in a nationwide contest sponsored by 3M, the makers of Bubblewrap. He designed a strike zone out of bubble wrap that he could hang from the garage door. Mason is passionate about becoming a major league pitcher, so his invention allowed him to practice his pitches and get immediate feedback on his accuracy without a catcher. Now in high school, Mason has high aspirations for attending Stanford while pursing his dream of becoming a pitcher. He is a top student academically and well liked by his teachers and peers. The sky is his limit!!!

Abraham
Abraham is the newest member of the Kellett family. In January 2010, Susan, who works with students experiencing homelessness and foster youth, met Abraham when she was asked to assist him with a place to live. At the time, Abraham was 18, a senior at Crawford and was ‘couch surfing’ at friends’ homes. Working two jobs, and attending school, he was frustrated, tired, and ready to drop out. At the Kellett’s request, he moved into their home a week later, graduated from Crawford in June, and has completed his first semester at Mesa College with 2 As and 2 Bs. He recently moved into a room at friend’s house where he pays rent and is continuing to work two jobs.

Siegel-Lounsbury family • Mt. Helix Academy alums of distinction
Max, Rebecca, and Benjamin Siegel spent their entire elementary and middle school careers at Mt. Helix Academy, and all graduated from eighth grade to attend Cathedral High School. Their parents, Jonathon Siegel and Barbara Lounsbury are both physicians with Kaiser Permanente in San Diego and, in addition, Barbara has been associated with TIEE as a member of the Board of Directors since 1991, and subsequently as Medical Director since 2000. There is a great deal more to say about Max, Rebecca, and Benjamin than we have room for on this page. Each has been an outstanding student and has succeeded in extracurricular activities as well. Here, then, are brief biographies of three kids who Mt. Helix Academy is proud to call “alumni.”

Max Siegel
“I was at Mt. Helix Academy for nine years, from kindergarten through 8th grade, during which I had some of the most memorable moments of my life. It fostered my passion for learning, and gave me a great foundation that has helped me during my time at UC Berkeley.“

Max started kindergarten in 1994, the year that TIEE acquired Mt. Helix Academy (then known as Coleman Preparatory School). Max was a late talker and his parents were concerned about his starting kindergarten. They report: “We didn’t need to worry.” He attended Mt. Helix Academy through 8th grade and his teachers taught him the academic skills and fostered the self-management skills that have allowed him to be highly successful in high school and college.

After 8th grade, Max attended Cathedral Catholic High School from which he graduated with a 4.36 GPA. His high school honors included various academic awards and the Holy Cross Book award. The Advanced Placement courses Max took in high school gave him 29 units of college credit, equivalent to one year of college work. Max attends UC Berkeley, where, as a Film Studies major, he has earned a 3.67 GPA. As an arts writer for the Daily Californian, Max’s very first article for the “Daily Cal” was published as a feature article, was mentioned on the front page, and was given the most space and nicest graphics in the enclosed Arts & Entertainment section. He has completed several film related internships, and, dry-witted keyboard at ready, he maintains his own blog on film criticism, which you can review by clicking here. You can also read his contributions to the Daily Californian, which are archived here. Heady stuff, for sure.

Rebecca Siegel
“The small classes let me to get to know the other students well, helped me focus my attention, and learn. Mt Helix Academy helped me open up my eyes about my identity and my goals for the future. It gave me a great education.”

Rebecca began attending TIEE programs when she was three years old. She started at the Cook Education Center and subsequently was in the first group of Aim High students at Mt. Helix Academy. After graduating, she went on to attend Cathedral Catholic High School where she has been a straight A student. She has been a member of Glee Club, Choir, and the Simpsons Club. She especially enjoys Art and Sign Language. Her academic awards include the Bishop Charles Buddy Award and the Father Charles Cadden Award. ‘Becca is also a member of the teen choir at her synagogue.

Benjamin Siegel
“Mt. Helix Academy is such a close-knit school, so I had a great time in the company of my classmates.“

Benjamin was also a lifer at Mt. Helix Academy, attending the program from Kindergarten through 8th grade. He currently is a senior at Cathedral Catholic High School and plans to attend UCLA next year. At Cathedral, Ben participated in Junior Varsity Football, Academic League, and Drama. He has maintained a 4.37 GPA and has garned several academic awards, including AP Scholar Award, Bishop Charles Buddy Award, Father Charles Cadden Award, and the Yale Book Award. Ben is also active in the teen choir and youth group at his synagogue.

Congratulations, Siegel kids! We hope that the foundations Mt. Helix Academy gave you will serve you well all your lives.