Name: Dr. Scott S

Age: 38

Graduated from Elan School: 1985

What circumstances brought you to Elan?
Drugs, Alcohol, Truancy, Running Away From Home

What were your relationships (family and friends) like before Elan and how have they changed as a result of coming here?
I hated my family and my friends were superficial.  I accept my family for who they are. My mom and I are close. In fact, I have the honor of giving her away at her wedding this June. I’Il leave it at that My friends are honest and intimate.

How did you feel about being at Elan when you were here?
Some days I hated it with a passion. Other days, I found it spiritually awakening. There were moments of clarity and blinding brilliance, however they did not last. And as always, these moments still come to me and are recognized as only as a state of impermanence.

How do you now feel about having been at Elan?
Without hesitation, it saved my life!

Where did you go/what did you do after leaving Elan?
I flew directly to Philadelphia, PA  where I was transported to St. Francis Preparatory, an all boys Catholic Boarding School run by the Franciscan Friars. I stayed there for the most part until I graduated high school. Onward I pushed and graduated with honors from The University of Denver. Next stop: Berkeley, CA to obtain my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. The train rolled on where I completed a 2 year Postdoctoral Fellowship in Neuropsychology in Worcsester, MA. After this, I hopped the Santa Fe to new Mexico where I lived on the Navajo Indian Reservation and worked for the Gallup Indian Medical Center (IHS,PHS, DHHS)for 6 years. During this time, I also was an Associate Professor at UNM School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. After a short derailment in Flagstaff AZ with private practice of sorts, I moved to West Texas to be with an ol’ friend who like me, likes to work with individuals less fortunate.  I teach at the Angelo State University and work 60 hours a week at Esperanza Health and Dental Clinic. I specialize in the treatment of child and adolescent disorders usually found in childhood and adolescence.  Currently, I live on a place I call “The Honsuckle Hill Riding Farm.  It’s just me and the horses and a cowgirl or two that can bear with me from time to time.

What skills did you learn while at Elan that have helped you in your adult life?
To accept life on life’s terms.  In other words, I control my own reality, I create my own reality. It is all quantum physics really.  I am not that important, and it really is not all about me. The best I ever get to be is human.

What is your fondest memory of your time here?
We had a power outage and we all had to go down to the lake and bathe.  It was very cold but we had a great time. 

What advice would you offer to parents considering Elan for their child?
You cannot not afford to do it. It’s only money, you can make more.

What advice would you offer to a student just entering Elan?
Relax, everything will be ok. I know it is hard to believe but things will go on just fine without you. All your worrying amounts to nothing. You are a spec of sand in a vast universe, stop being so selfish and self centered. 

Do you still think about Elan?
All the time. Both in a wakeful state and while dreaming

Where is your Elan Diploma?
No Clue! But I bet my mom knows exactly where it is.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Of course. Parents always want to know does the program work. My opinion is I don’t know.  One has to begin to be comfortable with not knowing the answer to anything.  If you see Elan, and all of its people as anything other than human beings you will be disappointed. However, do not quit before the miracle happens!

Is there anything your mother/father would like to add?
This is why I think it worked for me. It served as a significant period of disruption in my development physically, emotionally and environmentally. In other words, if I stayed at my old playground with my old playmates nothing would have changed. And when nothing changes , nothing changes except I grow older and I become developmentally arrested. Second, and perhaps more crucial I was not allowed to return home. Why? Because I changed and the world I was living in pretty much stayed the same.