Santana Arnold
Graduate
Santana is a recent graduate from South Carolina Connections Academy (SCCA). She lives in Ridge Spring, South Carolina with her family. As a competitive gymnast, Santana enjoys the flexible learning that SCCA provides. Santana’s mom shares her story below.
"We first learned of Connections Academy when Santana was diagnosed with eczema. We were told that an outbreak could be caused by many allergens, including the old carpet and building materials in the typical bricks-and-mortar schools. After weighing our options with daycare, work, and school, we decided that Connections Academy was the right fit for our home.
Santana can learn at home in an allergy-controlled environment and is able to concentrate on what she is reading and learning. The decision to learn at home gave Santana the opportunity to find new interests and extracurricular activities. She found her passion in competitive gymnastics. With SCCA’s flexible learning program, she is able to attend school and still have enough time to train 22 hours per week. The SCCA teachers are thorough with grading and in explaining better ways to find answers. Santana’s favorite thing about Connections Academy is the flexible learning hours, and her favorite subject is social studies. She especially loves the LiveLesson® sessions in all of her classes.
Santana is very proud to be a member of Aiken Gymnastics, located in Aiken, SC. They have an exemplary reputation of turning average tumblers into hard-working and complete young women. Santana trains 22 hours per week and travels all over the country during meet season to cities like Atlantic City, Baltimore, Atlanta, and Charlotte. Aiken Gymnastics helps gymnasts who are seeking to move on to excellent college programs and obtain scholarships, which is her goal. The gym prepares these young ladies for college gymnastics. She also has several teammates at the gym who attend SCCA.
Santana’s favorite thing about Connections Academy was the flexible learning hours. Her favorite subject is social studies, and she especially loves the LiveLesson sessions in all of her classes.
— Santana's mom
Santana strives to become a college gymnast and already achieved level 8 at the age of 12. She hopes to obtain level 10 within two years and start preparing for Elite Gymnastics, which is highly sought after in the college ranks. No matter how good you are at gymnastics, nothing prepares you for college like a good education! Santana is an ‘A’ student and has made the Honor Roll for exemplary grades. She understands the complexity of the road she has chosen to be a great student-athlete.
Outside of the gym, Santana loves to explore in the woods, go tromping through swamps, and ride horses. She finds these activities to be a great escape and sense of freedom from all of the training she does. She also enjoys going to her Aunt Sue’s house on Ocracoke Island, NC. She loves to discover the nautical and fishing histories, pirates, and the reason behind keeping the beaches a natural preserve."
