Winston's Learning Solutions, Travel Experiences Prep Teenager for College

Travel is a priceless teacher. For Graham Cunitz, a senior at Del Mar’s The Winston School, travel has been an important exercise in self-sufficiency. His adventure to Peru and Macchu Picchu last year was a vital confidence builder for the teenager with learning disabilities.

Seventeen-year-old Graham has a form of dyslexia and struggles with reading and writing. He transferred to Winston as a freshman and began making improvements in his skills thanks to the school’s small class sizes and multi-sensory teaching methods. He has also participated in the school’s annual travel program reserved for a small group of teens that travel with a chaperone to a site in the U.S. This year the program takes students to New Orleans.

“We’ve traveled a lot as a family and lived on the east coast where U.S. history is rich, so Graham has been exposed to many things” said his mom Laura. “Traveling with classmates taught Graham valuable lessons about getting along with peers. He has grown so much since he came to Winston and travel has been a big part of that.”

Graham visited Peru as part of SOAR, a study abroad immersion program that is tailored for kids with learning disabilities. He stayed with a host family in Mancala for eight weeks and spent time working at the family’s restaurant. By his account, the trip was a life changing experience because it was the first time he travelled outside of the U.S. without his family.

“I was on my own for two months and got exposed to all kinds of new things,” he said with an ear-to-ear grin about the personal achievement.

“New things” included daily Spanish classes and work in the restaurant kitchen alongside local Peruvians. Students also followed a class curriculum centered on self-sufficiency exercises that taught them skills like buying their own bus tickets and what to do if they got lost.

“I learned enough Spanish to communicate with other kitchen workers and get around town. It was challenging – but in a cool way,” he said.

The highlight of his trip were visits to the Inca ruins of Macchu Picchu, high above the Sacred Valley, and the Amazon jungle. He also sampled alligator, which is part of Peruvian cuisine. His favorites? “Everything,” he beams.

Graham hopes to travel to Peru again some day but sees the immediate benefits the experience has given him.

“This was great practice for college and living away from my family. I had to learn to be self-reliant. No one will be there to take care of me except me,” he said.

He was accepted at three east coast colleges and plans to attend Mitchell College in New London, Conn. next fall. This is no small feat, according to his mom, who says college was an improbability just a few short years ago.

“Graham has learned very good independence skills,” she says. “Thanks to Winston’s learning program and these travel experiences, he is more confident than ever.”

The Winston School is a college preparatory program for bright, creative students in grades 4 through 12 who struggle to meet their potential due to learning differences. For more information about the school, go to http://thewinstonschool.com/