Beaver Reflections:
I graduated from Beaver in 2004. Those were the best years of my life. I joined Beaver in 7th grade and every year was an adventure. Looking back, I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to go to Beaver. I come from a single mom family from inner-city Boston. I had some of the best teachers that I had ever come across. They truly cared about my success and ensured that I had a complete education both in and out of the classroom. Todd Whitten, my history teacher, was the best teacher I’ve ever had. He was the type of history teacher that would have his students explore history through a critical lens. One of my favorite parts of Beaver was the fencing team. I fenced throughout high school, and it was an amazing experience learning a new sport.

What is #happeningnow in your life:
After Beaver, I worked in finance in Boston for a few years and then went to MIT Sloan Business School. After I graduated from MIT, I decided to run my own private equity company. We took over a company called Fail Safe Testing, which did fire equipment inspections across the country. I ran the business for six years and sold it last year. Running the business was a great experience with many challenges that taught me a lot. My wife and I had a baby in January, so now I am spending time with my family and exploring possible opportunities to take on next.

“People are the most important asset of any company or organization. It doesn’t matter how much money you have or what resources you have; if you appreciate the people that make up the organization, the payback you get from them is astronomical.”
– Kousha Antonio Bautista-Saeyan ‘04

Advice to Beaver students:
Don’t be afraid to fail and experiment. Beaver provides the resources for students to try new things, so trying something new and failing is a great opportunity to learn.