My name is Joel Laurano, I am a part of Intrinsic’s founding class that was in downtown for a year while our Belmont campus was built.

Intrinsic’s first campus is the Belmont Campus. Its second campus, the Downtown Campus, just opened up a few months ago. Before the new campus was opened, our school leaders had to ask themselves many questions in order to design the perfect school –  What does a high school look like? Is there only one definition? Can our definition of “high school” evolve to look like the rest of the world? They decided that a high school should mirror the world that students will eventually work and live in. So, the high school is designed based on that.

Then they had to decide where this school should be. When it comes to planning where to establish a school, you want to make sure the school is in an area where students can be safe and thrive. Downtown offers an environment for all students to thrive, with a number of resources for anyone no matter what the interest. Intrinsic does an amazing job in communicating routes and encouraging relationship building within the student body.

While we were only downtown for a year, it was a year to remember. Every Friday, students had the opportunity to travel in groups to different businesses and have exposure to their craft and culture. Taking the train everyday and being around people in suits and ties was something that affected me in the most positive way. As soon as I could, I was also wearing business attire and carried myself to a new standard. To have a school downtown is not only transforming the classroom but its transforming lives.