Acton Learner, Years Later

A month ago, I had the privilege of spending time with Ali and Ramiza Faraz, the leaders of Acton Academy Lahore, during an Acton leadership gathering. I was inspired not only by their school’s remarkable growth and unwavering commitment to learner-driven governance but by their warmth, humility, and deep belief in young people. It was clear that Ali and Ramiza are dreamers, doers, and change-makers who have courageously built something lasting in their community. 

Their campus in Lahore, Pakistan has been part of the Acton network for many years. They now have graduates, alumni who have completed their Next Great Adventure and stepped fully into adulthood. In many ways, they and their learners are mentors to the rest of us who are still building. Here at Acton Oshkosh, we are still growing. Six years in, and we have not yet reached the stride of alumni walking into the world bearing the full fruit of the journey. I understand that sometimes it can feel difficult to see what this path becomes. It requires vision and it requires trust. 

Today, I invite you to listen to an Acton Academy Lahore alum––a learner who lived the Acton experience, completed their Next Great Adventure, graduated, went on to law school, and is now established in professional life. 

They wrote: 

“Clear thinking leads to good decisions, good decisions lead to the right habits, habits form character, and character leads to destiny. This is something we learn at Acton, from our everyday habits of setting SMART goals to exploring our passions. And it’s something that has stayed with me into my Next Great Adventure. 

There was a time when school felt like a checklist. Classes to attend, assignments to complete, grades to keep up. Somewhere between keeping up and getting ahead, there was little space to ask the questions that actually mattered: what sparked my curiosity? What was I passionate about? What did the world need? School was more about remembering facts and less about thinking clearly. 

Then I joined Acton. Learning no longer felt confined to subjects or schedules. It began to feel connected to real questions and a broader sense of purpose. For the first time, school became a place to explore our interests and introspect on who we want to become. 

In that environment, growth extended beyond academics. I had to reflect and etch good habits. I became a better communicator, a more thoughtful teammate, and a person willing to take initiative and responsibility. This has led me to be far more ready for life after school than cramming for exams ever would. I practiced thinking clearly and critically, making the right decisions, getting back up after making wrong ones — resilience and reflection that I’ve used every day through law school and now in my professional and personal life. 

From dreading school with endless busy-work to finding purpose and building the character traits I value and continue to hone, Acton fostered the clear thinking that leads to destiny.” 

When I read these words, I paused, because the words echoed by an Acton alum far across the world hang on the wall in our Discovery studio: “Clear thinking leads to good decisions. Good decisions lead to the right habits. Habits form character. Character leads to destiny.” Our learners walk past that poster every day and years later, across the world, an alum uses those same words to describe the foundation of their life. That is the long arc of education. 

Acton doesn’t promise perfection, we promise the shaping of a young person who can think clearly, choose wisely, rise after failure, and pursue purpose with courage. We may not yet have graduates here in Oshkosh but we are planting the same seeds as Acton Lahore. 

As you reflect this week, consider:

What habits are quietly forming in your child right now? Where is your child practicing clear thinking, even when it feels messy? When you imagine your child years from now, what kind of character do you hope has taken root? What letter do you imagine they might one day write to future Acton parents? 

The words on our wall are not just decoration, they are direction.