Kirun Treinen

Kirun Treinen started his FMS education upon relocating to Las Vegas when he was 6 years old entering 1st grade, followed by completing his elementary and middle school years.

My most outstanding memory from FMS, without a doubt, is from the annual Zion camping trips I took during elementary school. From what I can remember, it was a very cold spring, and the landscape was magical. The magic was enhanced by the fact that no matter where you looked, above in the trees or low on the ground, were cocoons. Ms. Maija explained to me that this was the time caterpillars initiated their metamorphosis and transformed into butterflies. Ms. Maija was truly the most influential teacher I have ever had and her love of hiking has continued to stick with me even now. The exploration and sense of adventure she fostered within me and my classmates by exposing us to magical landscapes paralleled her unique quality to instill a love of learning within us as well. One of my favorite things to do is hike with my friends on the weekends, and that love originated on those field trips. Not to mention the legendary third grade Rain Tree hike at Mt. Charleston.

Currently, I am a member of my school’s Black Student Union and enjoy being exposed to new cultural worldviews and perspectives at our weekly meetings. Other clubs I’ve been involved in include Model United Nations, National Honor Society, and Batteries Included (a service-based club). I also have the pleasure of being able to play guitar every day in one of my classes because of the awesome performing arts high school I attend. I am usually learning new pieces of music to showcase at concerts or recitals. I take a full schedule of AP and honors classes and continue to strive for academic success.

I have been a member of the Origin Climbing team which has allowed me to take part in climbing competitions in Nevada, Arizona, and California. The early love of the outdoors fostered at FMS has allowed me to continue hiking and climbing outdoors.

I am a Senior at Las Vegas Academy of the Arts and I am leaning towards attending University of Nevada, Reno in the fall.  I plan on going beyond undergrad in my higher learning and hope to end up in the Pacific Northwest working in the field of biology/genetics.  I will be majoring in Biotechnology at University of Nevada, Reno in a five year bachelors-masters program, but am also interested in taking music and journalism classes throughout my time in college.

My favorite aspect of Montessori education is its emphasis on hands-on learning. I remember being taught to always be curious, and to always find ways to enjoy learning. In lower elementary, I was taught songs to help remember names of continents and the six animal kingdoms. This approach made me more engaged in learning and made me enjoy seeking new information. I remember in upper elementary being taught by Ms. Danna on how to expand on short moments and be able to write entire personal narratives from those moments. What I love most is that learning felt natural and I wasn’t being pressured to follow a rigid formula in order to learn. I understood the process rather than having to memorize facts. The dissections Ms. Erica exposed us to in middle school nurtured my love for science. I remember her giving me the chance to teach the genetics lesson since I was interested in the subject. Her energy and love for learning lit up the classroom. I have always loved reading, but Ms. Arlene allowed me to dive into a book more deeply and think critically about the plot and characters. The Shakespeare plays we performed in class made the story come alive and helped us relate to the characters. Her etymology lessons have helped me in other subjects in high school like anatomy.

I am extremely grateful to my family for investing in my education at such a young age and to all the FMS teachers I’ve had for making that opportunity worthwhile. FMS has enabled me to have momentum of perpetual growth and has instilled a passion within me to learn and follow my dreams.