"We focus on personal growth and development more than compiling a list of colleges," says Andrea Juskaitis, teacher and owner of Sky Blue College and Academic Coaching. Personal growth is a topic Andrea knows well, having followed her star from language to language, state to state, and culture to culture. "I'm 100 percent Lithuanian," she says proudly. "My parents were displaced persons who fled during WW2. I speak Lithuanian, hold dual citizenship and cook Lithuanian dishes."
Growing up in southern California near the border, her family spent hours in Tijuana shopping, watching Jai Alai and "buying fresh tortillas," she remembers, prompting Andrea to study Spanish from junior high through college at UC Santa Barbara. "I love the language and the culture."
Meeting in PC, she and her husband eventually relocated with their two children to Carlsbad, CA and Pacific Ridge School, where Andrea led students on annual international trips before setting off for Vail Christian School in Colorado.
"But we missed the Park City community," she says of returning to her teaching and coaching roots (she coached PC High girls' soccer with colleague Chip Cook). "I know how to encourage adolescents and make them accountable," she says. “Parents want the best” as they brave the labyrinth of finding the right college. “Helping relieve their stress during the process is a joy."
Andrea's children follow in her world-curious footsteps, one in California pursuing her MBA, another in Turkey working for women's empowerment. Meanwhile, Andrea, a licensed life coach, "loves everything about outdoor life," from standup paddleboarding to skate skiing. "I also do yoga to stay limber and keep my mind clear."
Clarity: that may be just the word to describe what Sky Blue offers when young people wrestle with big choices - a moment when this enthusiastic, compassionate, well-traveled teacher and mom can be a guiding light. "I'm passionate about helping adolescents feel successful and confident in who they are."