''Living in community, respect, hard work…''

If Sebastian remembers anything from his years at the Montessori school, it is the times he repeated “living in community, respect, hard work…” and he accepts that these values ​​are carried with him to achieve every goal he has in life.  

This summer, he is finishing his bachelor's degree from the University of Puerto Rico, Carolina Campus, in hotel and restaurant management.  

Sebastian arrived at the Ines Maria Mendoza Montessori public school in Caimito at the age of 13, to live a new educational experience through the Montessori methodology, which he had never had. 

The four years he spent at school were unforgettable for this 21-year-old. He highlights from his experience the values ​​taught, the space provided to learn at his own pace and in depth, the brotherhood that is breathed throughout the school community in the process of transforming the school. 

“I take values ​​with me a lot, but also independence. I think those are the things that I take with me the most,'' said the graduate of the Public Montessori project. 

For the graduate, the space provided to make decisions and be creative helped him to find his vocation and make the decision to study hotel and restaurant management. In addition, he was able to cultivate his passion for music that led him to enter the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music this August. 

''I think that in these environments you have to be a leader and creative because you have to take the initiative quickly, just like in music. In music, creativity is 100% necessary. Living the Montessori method, well, I think so, that it had to do with the decisions that I am making now and that I have made'' shared the graduate.

In the future Sebastian sees himself as a music teacher. He aspires to be a human being who inspires others to work for what they like and are passionate about, accompanying them to achieve what they dream of, regardless of whether they come from places with few resources. 

For the young man, Montessori was a "non-traditional" education that helped him make his own decisions, and to know that he was not alone, that he had many people who loved him and supported him to get where he wanted.