Nate Z.
Class of August ‘98
Nate Z., along with his wife and one of two children, recently attended the The Family Foundation School Passover Seder to visit with staff and students and to enjoy the feast.
Before arriving at The Family School in March ’97, Nate repeatedly used drugs, had a pessimistic, negative outlook on his life, and treated his family with disrespect. “I was basically a spoiled brat who had it his way all the time,” he said. Nate, after being intaked, was enrolled into Family Two with Bob and Susan Runge. He was quickly welcomed by students and staff such as Jan Cheripko and Paul Geer. But, even with all the positive influence, he didn’t want to fully surrender.
After ten months at the school, Nate still had no real interest in the program and put on another face showing that he did. “I was playing the game,” he stated. After getting sick and tired of lying to his peers, he ran away. Coming back willingly was still difficult, since his parents threatened to disown him and sanctions were piled onto him. Once Nate realized that it was all up to him, he began to pray and do some work with his sponsor and his peers. “It soon began to work.”
Responsibilities, school work, and other activities such as chorus kept him busy and out of his head. For a couple of months, Nate worked with Chris Stein in journalism and eventually graduated in August of ’98. After graduating, he went home to work for a year, and went to college for a year. He worked at The Family School, in time, and soon found his wife-to-be.
Nate now owns a printing company and supplies printing materials to FFS. Nate has two little girls, and he can say openly that his life is amazing. He regularly goes to meetings, and strives to live a life of integrity. “To the seniors graduating in June: hold onto the things that are true. If you’re new to FFS, try talking to someone who you can relate to.”
