Enneagram Teen Project

Los Gatos High School

Enneagram Teen Project (ETP), a pilot project of The Human Potentialists, is powered by EPP’s transformative eight module curriculum. Funded through a grant from Los Gatos High School this fall, ETP is introducing self-awareness education to 220 juniors and seniors through a modified version of EPP’s program.

2022 Guides

Ambassador-Teen Panel at LGHS

EPP Ambassadors are formerly incarcerated graduates
of the EPP in-custody program who are now exemplars,
spokespeople, and trained Guides of the program in their
own right. Ambassadors are able to humanize the problem
of mass incarceration and the dilemma of being in a
prison of personality. Ambassadors provide the hope that
comes when people are given the tools and the loving
support they need to understand and love themselves; this
can be life-changing. Ambassador-Teen panels have been
received with overwhelmingly positive reception by LGHS
students.

The ETP pilot project featured a panel of our beloved EPP Ambassadors in January 2020.

What Teens Are Saying About Enneagram Teen Project

Q: SHARE SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH
LEARNING YOUR ENNEAGRAM TYPE THROUGH EPP?

"Working with the EPP has been such a life altering experience for me. To be able to learn more about my personality and why I do the things I do in my day to day life really makes me aware of my actions and how I can act towards others. I never knew in my 17 years of life, that there are people who have gone through such difficult times in their lives and have made life changing mistakes, and are willing to openly discuss them. It's really eye opening to see these formerly incarcerated people talk about how they've grown and learned from their past experiences. Please keep this program going! It's amazing!"

Donya, Year 11
"The Enneagram is really helping me understand who I am and how to grow as a person. It's helped me feel less alone in my experiences. When I began the Enneagram, I was in a dark place but from the readings and group discussions, I started to see a light and that the world wasn't all bad."

–Maisie Year 12"
"The Enneagram is really helping me understand why I do the things I do. It's given me a much better understanding of my own personality. It has also helped me become more empathetic and understanding of my peers."

–Sofia-Year 12"
"The EPP classes that I have taken so far have opened my eyes to not only who I am but how I react to certain situations. The class has helped me in many ways whether it is at home, at school, or at work. Overall, a great class and looking forward to finding out more about myself and my peers."
–Trey Year 11
"More comfortable with myself and my classmates now"
–Ivy-Year 11
"The EPP in class has been a wonderful, uplifting, and inspirational experience."
–Anne-Year 12
"Being able to identify fellow people with the same personality type and seeing the overwhelming commons, allows me to feel like I am not alone and able to get through hard times."
–Helene Year 11
"Working with EPP these past weeks has given me the opportunity to discover new things about myself that I never would have otherwise and has allowed me to grow so much."
–Rosie Year 11
"It was an amazing experience. I learned a lot about myself and others."
–Kadin Year 12
"This experience has been eye opening and validating to
me sense of self and how I think about myself."
–DJ Year 11

What Los Gatos High Faculty Says About Enneagram Teen Project

"Studying the Enneagram with my students has made me a better teacher. I am learning so much about myself in the process. I find the Enneagram to be a tool I wish I had known about when I was in high school. Now, I consider it a gift to my students and something that has taken our discussions as well as our understanding of each other to a deep level."

–T. Hamm, LGHS Teacher Grades 11/12“

The Enneagram is allowing my students to connect to one another in a more personal and meaningful way."

- Janna Rigby, LGHS Teacher Grade 11

"Through the ETP I have found my compassion for my students deepening in remarkable ways. ETP brings an awareness and acceptance of who students are and where students are at that can get lost when I"m trying to make sure that all students are capable of understanding Shakespeare, can integrate quotations and effectively analyze characters. It is very easy for me to get overwhelmed by the demands of the job and adopt a "my room is a cave" outlook, or "below-the-line" (to crib an ETP phrase) mentality of someone who closes themselves off from the rest of the world. Having ETP come into my class is establishing inroads and connections to my students that are vital for us, reaffirming for them, and revitalizing for me as a teacher. I know that as my juniors begin to write their college admissions essays, and/or analyze characters in the novels we are studying, the work that they are doing with ETP will benefit them. More importantly, in a climate where students can often feel isolated and anxious, I know that my students know they are seen, appreciated, and understood for who they are. Go ETP!”

- Zach Davison-Wilson, LGHS Teacher Grade 11"

“I have found that the Enneagram work has helped some of my more reticent students find a voice, as well as take more comfort in their quiet nature. Since my class focuses on ethics, identity, and interpersonal understanding, the Enneagram workshop only augments the curriculum.”

- Kurt Kroesch, LGHS Teacher Grade

What Parents are Saying About Enneagram Teen Project

PARENT QUOTE 1

PARENT QUOTE 2

PARENT QUOTE 3

PARENT QUOTE 1

“As a parent of two LGHS graduates and long time volunteer in the Los Gatos schools and friend of the Olesek family, I attended the Enneagram Prison Project program last week. During my tenure on the NMF board I can remember turning EPP down for a grant because it did not reach enough of our student population. Walking into the auditorium it was inspiring to see their first grant in motion and the auditorium with more than 200 students enraptured in the stories being told on stage with Susan Olesek guiding these former prisoners. I sat and listened as each one explained how the Enneagram process had changed their life. Each one had a story and a background that was foreign to most LGHS students and the perspective this offered them was, well, epic.

This type of creative programming is so enriching to our student population to step outside of the bubble and understand how someone comes to lead a life of crime, but then also to learn a process for understanding your personality and how you come to make the decisions you do.

I hope NMF will continue to fund this grant as I believe this programming enriches many different areas of instructions but also gives students something that will impact their life as they learn to understand themselves and others through the Enneagram.”

- Dani Hinsche, LGHS parent

PARENT QUOTE 2

"I want to applaud the tremendous leadership curriculum opportunity you helped architect for our LGHS students this semester. The Enneagram lectures that were spearheaded by your team were tremendously impactful on our son, Ryan, who is in the senior class. We are very familiar with the highly respected Enneagram Prison Program that you have championed around the world. We know this program is sweeping the nation and reforming citizens in our community and around the globe. However, we were surprised to learn that the curriculum was being taught at Los Gatos High School and that our kids had the opportunity to participate in the class.

We were absolutely thrilled to see how this class directly influenced our son’s life. It not only sparked deep conversations at our dinner table, but it gave Ryan a new understanding of his classmates and those who he encountered in class, administration, sports, coaches and family members. Ryan and his friends came home and discussed the knowledge they learned from the strong curriculum materials that were provided and applied it right away to friends and family.The important life skills of self assessment, self realization and actualization that help teens become successful in their personal growth and relationships is fundamental to our current teaching environment. Human understanding is a basic topic that transcends our day to day relationships as citizens of the world, in communication with our coworkers, classmates and community members.

The Enneagram provides a schematic of order to insight in human functions, understanding each other and it also creates a culture of respect, promotion of the individual character, team skill building opportunities and community diversity. I would resoundingly support the Enneagram program as an ongoing class or curriculum enhancement for all students at Los Gatos High School. Thank you for your time and the opportunity you have given to our school community to participate in this program. The skills that our children will graduate with because of their knowledge of the Enneagram and learning under your leadership will be one of the life-long skills that will help them be successful wherever they go in the world.”

- Stefanie Nelson, LGHS Parent

PARENT QUOTE 3

“My name is Laura Saunders, and I have been studying the Enneagram for almost three years. We used the Enneagram as a solution not only for self-awareness; it also helped my family understand the personality characteristics within their groups at school and to have a better relationship with their teachers.

Learning about the Enneagram was the most significant gift we could give to our teen kids to help them better understand that we all experience life differently. I am not an expert on the Enneagram by any means, but I wanted to share my daughter's personal experience and my appreciation for what the school has taken on to teach our kids this tool called the Enneagram.

Our daughter questioned everything and always needed our guidance to manage her everyday worries, and what she was fearing might happen at school. Sometimes what she feared seemed ridiculous to us, and we ignored her request to understand why she was in a state of worry about trivial things. The constant reassurance she desired from friends exhausted those close to her, and eventually, those relationships went away. Her attention always went to the feelings of fear, doubt, and not trusting anyone's motives, even her teachers. Her fear kept her from taking action and trusting her judgments. Learning about the Enneagram has helped our family have less frustration towards each other and greater awareness to understand our weaknesses and strengths. Our daughter discovered she was a six while studying Enneagram this year in her English class at LGHS. A teen living in a world where fear causes them to procrastinate on the "to-do’s” in life that are put on the back burner because of their "unproductive thinking" is a world that is not productive and needs help.

Implementing the Enneagram at home was a struggle, but now that the school is utilizing this tool, our daughter has a better understanding of how to trust herself and others. She has become more courageous to act, and most importantly, she is learning to ask the right questions to get the security she desires. So now, when our daughter's attention goes to those feelings that others have hidden motives or agendas, or she fears she will not do an assignment correctly, she uses the Enneagram to help her take action. It's work in progress, but at least our family has developed a greater self-awareness of our weaknesses and are more mindful of our family's strengths.”

-Laura Saunders, LGHS Parent“

Field Trip to a Correctional Facility - Student Graduation

EPP facilitates a field trip* to the graduation of a current EPP class at a correctional facility (jail or prison) in order to see this work in action. This engagement is about intentionally humanizing “the work” of self-knowing and validating the importance of this endeavor for those incarcerated and LGHS students who are the next generation.

*note: participants must be 18 at the time that clearance information is submitted to the prison or jail-facility.

Q: What was the most impactful thing about your visit to San Quentin?

“Demolishing pre-judgements.”
“Seeing how these inmates are just like us and how for many understanding their personality helped them understand their crimes.”
“Listening to their stories and learning from them.”
“Realizing my ignorance, and becoming open minded.”
“It opened my eyes to something I had no education about.”
“How much people wanted to learn from me, and how open they were to learning.”
“That people on the inside of the prison can be more respectful than the people on the outside although they could have been totally different.”
“Having deep conversations with the prisoners.”

EPP is thriving because of the generous support of people like you.

A contribution to Enneagram Prison Project supports our paradigm-shifting
work to advance prison reform, social justice, and personal transformation.

Please consider designating your gift to EPP today.

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