News Detail
From Student to Parent: An Early Alum’s Full-Circle Sage Hill Story
In a historic milestone for Sage Hill, Dr. Matthew Kornswiet ‘04 is the school’s first alumnus to enroll a child as a student at his beloved alma mater.
Nathan Kornswiet ‘32 is also breaking new ground as a member of Sage Hill’s inaugural seventh grade class. But he already knows his way around campus, having explored Python coding, theatre and stop motion animation workshops over the past two summers with Camp Sage.
Nathan Kornswiet ‘32 is also breaking new ground as a member of Sage Hill’s inaugural seventh grade class. But he already knows his way around campus, having explored Python coding, theatre and stop motion animation workshops over the past two summers with Camp Sage.
“I always liked how Sage was very individualistic with helping kids figure out their passion and career choices,” said Dr. Kornswiet, a specialist in pediatric sports medicine at CHOC,.
Sage Hill’s smaller class sizes paved the way for Dr. Kornswiet to bond with a close-knit friend group that still stays in touch. After Sage Hill’s announcement about opening a middle school, Matthew and his wife Alyssa were excited and hopeful for their son to have a similar experience at an earlier age.
Sage Hill’s smaller class sizes paved the way for Dr. Kornswiet to bond with a close-knit friend group that still stays in touch. After Sage Hill’s announcement about opening a middle school, Matthew and his wife Alyssa were excited and hopeful for their son to have a similar experience at an earlier age.
As a member of the Class of 2004, Matthew was part of the first cohort to spend all four years of high school at Sage Hill. This trailblazing group launched sports teams and student-led clubs that set the tone for future classes.
“You get very few opportunities in life to be a pioneer, that first run,” Dr. Kornswiet said. “It definitely felt very serendipitous that my son could potentially be in the first class of the middle school.”
As a high school student, Dr. Kornswiet tried playing football–even though he was mainly a baseball player– but a thumb injury landed him in the athletic training office. His time with the school’s thoughtful athletic trainer instilled an interest in caring for and listening to injured athletes. He would go on to become a student athletic trainer outside of his own playing season.
“I learned how to tape. I did the sideline medicine and it completely changed my mindset of what I wanted to do in life,” Kornswiet said.
Dropping off his son for Accepted Student Day & Pep Rally in March refreshed fond memories of friends, teachers and high school celebrations.
“I think it's just that community feel and it very quickly brought me back to remembering my classmates and how whether I was super best friends with them, or just close, everyone knew each other and was friendly,” Dr. Kornswiet said.
But it’s also the top tier faculty, small class sizes and a deep bench of electives that clinched the family’s decision to enroll.
“We're fortunate to live in a place with a lot of great academic institutions but I feel sometimes the individuality isn't always there and looking for those individual kids,” Dr. Kornswiet said. “Nathan's always been kind of that deep thinker, always asking questions. Sometimes in a class of 34 students, I felt like he was doing great, but it just wasn't fostered as much.”
With an average class size of 14 students, Nathan and his peers can expect a personalized approach to learning.
Nathan is excited to start his orchestra elective so he can continue practicing piano and clarinet. The Kornswiets were also drawn to the Study Skills elective to help him learn how to stay on task as academic rigor increases in upper school. The school’s novel approach to inducting all middle school students into a team sport every season was also attractive.
“None of my patients like PE, especially if they’re not in sports, but having that team environment, learning new skills and pushing him is great. He's going to try flag football. He's never played before. He may like it, he may not, but it's an opportunity to try something.”
Sage Hill School
A college preparatory independent day school for grades 7-12.
20402 Newport Coast Drive, Newport Coast, CA 92657
Phone: 949.219.0100 | Fax: 949.219.1399
20402 Newport Coast Drive, Newport Coast, CA 92657
Phone: 949.219.0100 | Fax: 949.219.1399
Sage Hill School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and athletic and other School administered programs.