Our Students

What makes Athena’s so special?

Besides our engaging courses, it’s our amazing students that make Athena’s so extraordinary. Our students are full of ideas, passion, and curiosity. They are the reason we strive to make Athena’s a warm, welcoming place to grow and learn.

Once in the webinar room, students text chat with each other and the instructor before class begins. During the lessons, students share their thoughts and ideas about the subject by typing using text chat and verbally via their microphones. The conversations often continue after the webinars and students head back to the classroom to “Open Chat,” to text chat with each other in real-time.

We want to give gifted and talented students the opportunity to connect with like-minded peers, who share their passions and curiosities – having fun while learning with each other. In her 2013 study, founder Dr. Kirsten Stein confirmed that beyond the desire to have their gifted child exposed to an appropriate and challenging curriculum, parents of gifted children wanted the online educational environment to provide a community of like-minded individuals for their gifted student child (Stein, 2013). In our virtual classrooms, through threaded discussion forums, students begin to get to know each other even before the first webinars.

During the week, students discuss class topics through threaded discussion forums and support each other with positive feedback. Students may also be given the opportunity to collaborate on group projects together, including course-inspired builds on our Minecraft™ servers.

All of Athena’s students are able to come together on our Social forums, where there are a variety of forum topics being discussed. There’s even a Mini World where we have an entire community where imagination abounds!

In addition, we believe in giving students a platform to soar.

Many students submit their creations to share on our News webpage and social media platforms.

Some students choose to pursue independent projects, working closely with instructors to research and pursue their project. Others work together to create group projects–within or outside of courses.

Students who would like to share their knowledge with others become Junior Presenters (proceeds from Junior Presenter seminars go to their charity or non-profit of choice) or Junior Instructors!

We believe amazing things can happen when we’re together. It’s what community is all about –
and we welcome you.