The O’Malley Family / Why we attend SC

Pat and Heather O’Malley decided to move to Oregon, in search of a great environment for raising their family. While looking for a home in the Corvallis area, their realtor suggested that Santiam Christian might be a good fit for them. Seeing the strong public schools in the area, they decided to go with that option instead. After just a few months, they realized that the elementary school he was attending wasn’t working well for their younger son, Hudson. Looking for a great peer group, strong role models, an environment that supported good behavior and consequences when there wasn’t, they decided to investigate what their realtor had originally suggested. Almost immediately, during their visit to the Santiam Christian campus, they relaxed into what felt like a great option for their family. “It had been hard to think about making a change, but once we saw what was out here, we knew it was the right thing to do.” said Heather.

With their older son, Jack, feeling happy in a local middle school, they decided to pursue enrollment for just Hudson at that time. While their family was meeting with the elementary principal as part of getting to know the school, Jack announced, “I think I want to go here, too.” Pouncing on that opening, they filled out Jack’s application right away and enrolled both boys.

“We had such a smooth transition.” said Heather. “We were immediately welcomed and felt involved from day one. Our boys love their teachers. Jack is excited about his electives and we’ve all made great friends.” Heather has particularly been excited to watch her boys start to take initiative and responsibility for their work. She says “They are taking more accountability for things and I can see them growing stronger character.“

When asked what has made the biggest impact for their family, she said, “Everyone told us that Santiam Christian is like a big family and we just took it with a grain of salt. Then we were surprised to see that it was a true. We feel thankful that it’s OUR family.”