Nico Farrell has developed and taught classes and activities for gifted students across a wide range of organizations. He is one of Camp Summit for the Gifted’s co-creators and a counselor at Yunasa, a well-rounded camp for gifted children from the Institute for Educational Advancement. Mr. Farrell was also instrumental in expanding the camp to Colorado for a more ecology-focused experience at Yunasa West. As an educator, he is strongly committed to fostering a vibrant and creative community, which he believes is an inherent part of students’ positive educational and developmental environment. He allows his students to deeply explore new topics so that learning is a natural, emergent component of that exploration and problem-solving.
Mr. Farrell graduated Summa Cum Laude with Departmental Honors from Lewis & Clark College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies with a concentration in the Creation of Environmental Legislation through Advocacy and Public Dialogue. He is drawn to multidisciplinary fields where quantitative analytical competency and interconnected qualitative skills are applied. Mr. Farrell shares, “many big-picture questions cannot be answered only through economics or only through sociology; multiple fields must be combined for a full picture of why our society is progressing in this way.”
Besides teaching and event management for educational organizations, Mr. Farrell is also a professional technical writer and editor. His work has been used to explain complicated software platforms that connect social services and explain the faults of proposed environmental legislation to federal elected officials’ offices.
Mr. Farrell’s volunteer work has also allowed him to explore more deeply the causes that he particularly cares about. He has been a presenter and Young Adult Board Member of PG Retreat, an organization focusing on profoundly gifted children and their families’ needs. He has extensively volunteered with the Wild Cat Education and Conservation Fund, an outreach organization to help communities learn about wild cats. In addition to the tracking skills necessary for his field studies, he has developed a passion for candid photography, telling the stories of his outdoor adventures and student trips.
Mr. Farrell’s practice of acrobatics and dexterity extends beyond what’s necessary to cross rivers and mountains adroitly – he has also learned various circus arts, including juggling fire, unicycling, and, on one memorable occasion, flying trapeze! His fascination with strategic decision-making and storytelling are combined in his hobby of running and playing a wide variety of games with his friends, from real-time strategy games to D&D. He is also a musician, playing a variety of piano genres, including jazz, classical, and pop songs (again, flexibility is important!), and is absolutely in awe each time he gets to play songs on an organ.
Mr. Farrell grew up in the heart of Silicon Valley, where he was thrilled to learn from a variety of driven, talented people and explore the natural spaces of incredible, inspiring biodiversity. Education is a strong value held throughout his family — and his twin sibling is also a teacher.
