Dale Stephens

UnCollege was founded by Dale J. Stephens in 2011.[2][3][4][5][6] Stephens is a self-described "elementary school dropout", as he was homeschooled with emphasis on real-world experience for the majority of his childhood.[7] He briefly attended Hendrix College. While there, Stephens had a night-long discussion with a friend regarding the disconnect between the theoretical subject matter taught in college and its real world applications.[7] This discussion would become the basis for UnCollege, which Stephens founded in 2011.[7] In 2010, Stephens also applied for the Thiel Fellowship, a program founded by Peter Thiel which grants fellows US$100,000 to forgo college for two years and focus on their passions.[8][9][10][11] After his initial proposal was rejected, Stephens was encouraged to reapply in pursuit of his work as an educational futurist through UnCollege. His second application succeeded and he was in the first batch of Thiel Fellows. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_On#Background