GRADUATE PROFILE
Nikko and Andrea will be moving to the
San Francisco Bay area
after graduation.
It’s an unlikely story:
three families from far-
flung parts of the globe
chance to meet through
an online school.
Years later, their children
attend college in the same
small Idaho town.
integrated the life of the NSA student was
with the surrounding community. To me,
dorm life was really strange and kind of
creepy. I [was not] just choosing a degree,
[but] a lifestyle for the next four years…
[M]eeting a lot of really great people and
the faculty, and how interesting they
were—I thought I’d love to learn from
them. The hospitality of both churches
[Christ Church and Trinity Reformed]
made me want to be here!”
At NSA, a high school crush turned
into full-blown romance: within a few
years, Kate became Mrs. Santiago Pliego.
A year later, Andrea became Mrs. Nikko
Pliego. And now, Ana Sofia, who is grad-
uating on Thursday with her brother and
two dear friends and sisters-in-law, will be
married to Isaac Waitman (NSA ’18) at
the end of May.
All the Pliegos, and their spouses, have
loved their time at NSA and excelled ac-
ademically in their classes. As they ap-
proach graduation, each of the Pliegos
have turned their thoughts to the future.
Nikko and Andrea will be moving to the
San Francisco Bay area this summer, where
Nikko, who loves working with his hands,
will be working for a pipe organ maker.
Kate, who has a unique and elegant eye for
fashion, currently works at NSA alumn
Laura Storm’s children’s clothing store
Hansel and Gretel, while Santiago works
at Emsi, the successful Moscow-based eco-
nomics firm downtown.
It’s an unlikely story: three families
from far-flung parts of the globe chance to
22 THE COMMONS
meet through an online school. Years
later, their children attend college in
the same small Idaho town. This wasn’t
an accident: God moved to bring the
Pliego kids and Kate and Andrea to
Idaho. New Saint Andrews became a
home for the Pliego family because it
offers something no other college can:
real and rigorous classical Christian
education provided by loving teach-
ers in a vibrant, close-knit, God-lov-
ing community. And that’s why you’ll
see not one, not two, but four Pliegos
graduate on Thursday along with their
class, each raising their cups and say-
ing, “Omni cui multum datum est, mul-
tum quaeretur ab eo.” To whom much
is given, much is required.
BRIANNA BRATRUD is a graduating
NSA senior from North Carolina.
Santiago and Kate (pictured with
Dr. McIntosh) will continue to live
here in Moscow.
Ana Sofia and Isaac Waitman
will marry at the end of May.