"Being at CVA with a group of athletes with the goal of making the U.S. Ski Team pushed us all to work harder on the mountain and in the classroom.   The small school setting was such a great environment for one-on-one interaction with coaches and teachers.” Kirsten Clark ’95 three time Olympian

"CVA allowed me to balance my learning in school with traveling and competiting around the world with the U.S. Ski Team.  The teachers were always willing to work with me.  CVA allowed me to grow as a person.  There is no other way that I could have achieved all I did without CVA." Forest Carey  '94, U.S. Ski Team and Middlebury College.

"I had the best times of my life at CVA. CVA teaches you to perform under pressure, to be self-reliant, diligent, and independent. You learn to work hard, and play hard.”  Renee Thibodeau '03 Valedictorian and Whitman College

"Through his journey at CVA Matt has learned to be responsible for himself, deal with and lead people, take risks, advocate for himself, travel the world, and make decisions on his own.  The lessons learned at CVA are not about the sport so much, but more about the journey of maturing and taking responsibility for oneself and one's actions.  The lesson of self avocation is tremendous and is at the very core of what the CVA experience is all about.  All of the kids walk away with so much confidence, which in today's world seems sorely lacking.   When we look at our son we know with certainty he would not be who he is today had he not gone to CVA!" Alpine Parent

"I don't know how many people back at CVA realize that I got my current job as a direct result of my CVA senior thesis.  This is the only job I have ever had.  More appropriately is the only company I've ever worked for.  After doing my senior thesis on bicycle suspension and spending a bunch of time at RockShox, they called me and offered me a job the fall of my freshman year of college.  I declined the offer and chose to finish out my degree.  RockShox then offered me a job working during the summers at races.  I would work a few races a year for them and work in a bike shop the rest of the summer.

The spring of my senior year, I signed a contract with RockShox to be their Race Technician.  I started the job 2 days after I graduated from Colby-Sawyer and have been here ever since.  I've had about 5 different jobs during that time, but now I'm a product manager in charge of our long travel suspension products.

Anyway, long story short, I really feel that I owe a lot of this to the experience that CVA provided to me"  Jeremiah Boobar '94 Colby-Sawyer College

“As I continue down the road of life, I am stronger at every turn because of my membership in the CVA community.  I am stronger for the friends I made, the lessons I learned, and the ethic I developed and for that, I am both proud and thankful to be considered a member of the CVA community." Thomas Holden '93 and a three time Academic All American and Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Massachusetts and Boston College Law School

CVA prepared me for excelling through all facets of life.  The time-management skills and work ethic have been invaluable in my career.  The learnings I took from ski racing – competition, dedication, hard work – are all key elements of success in all facets of life. Greg Tobias ’88 University of Alaska and Harvard School of Business