Built from the heart, for Coastal Carolina
We're an intentional community in Holly Ridge, NC—founded by families who believe kids are capable of far more than they've been told, and that the job of the adults around them is to protect that.
To deliver self-paced, project-based learning in Holly Ridge, NC, that integrates academics, movement, and hands-on experiences—fostering curiosity, creativity, and community connection.
The values that run our school
These are the values that run our school. They are not for everyone, and they are not meant to be. Families who share them thrive here. Families who don't will be happier somewhere else—and that is okay.
Real Work, Real Stakes
Growth lives on the other side of difficulty. Our students take on real work with real consequences, and they are allowed to struggle, fail, and try again. We do not shield kids from frustration, because the struggle is not a problem to be solved. It is the point.
Earn Your Place
Respect, responsibility, and standing are earned through what you do, not what you are owed. The standard is the standard, and it is the same for everyone. Nothing here is given. Everything here is earned.
Lead Yourself First
Before you can lead anyone else, you have to govern yourself: your attitude, your effort, and your word. We build students who take ownership of their choices instead of assigning blame. Accountability is not a punishment. It is the foundation of leadership.
Carry Your Own, Carry Each Other
Every student is responsible for their own ruck, and no one gets left behind. We build strong individuals who make the people around them better. Strength is personal, but it is never selfish.
The people behind Apogee Topsail
Bethany grew up in Metro Detroit, where she learned early that the best leaders aren't always the loudest in the room—they're the ones who see potential in others before those others see it in themselves. She earned a degree in Elementary Education from Grand Valley State University with an emphasis in English, along with her middle school Language Arts certification.
Her coaching career started at thirteen, when the director of the Detroit Pistons Academy spotted her—not for her stats, but for the way she showed up for her teammates. That internship became seven years leading the Red Division. As a teacher, she took over a seventh-grade girls basketball program and found her favorite version of coaching yet: cheering her girls through a lesson in the morning and pushing them through a defensive drill in the afternoon.
She spent years believing deeply in her kids while wrestling with a system that kept telling them to sit down, stop moving, and stop asking questions. When Nick approached her about wanting something better for his sons, Apogee felt less like a new direction and more like a permission slip to do what she'd always believed education should be.
Nick Koumalatsos is a Marine Raider veteran, entrepreneur, author, and fitness advocate who has built a career around one idea: that people are capable of far more than they've been told. He and his wife Alison started Alexander Industries in 2015 and have been building businesses together from the ground up ever since. Nick is co-founder and CEO of Johnny Slicks, founder of the Agoge, and author of Excommunicated Warrior: 7 Stages of Transition. He never finished high school, yet holds three degrees—one a Master's—and is working on his doctorate. That gap says everything about who he is.
What people see is a giant of a man—former special operations, serial entrepreneur. What they don't expect is how big his heart is. He's a father of four: Ella, Anna, Dimitri, and Louka. There's always time to play, always a project to pull them into, always an expectation to show up and work hard.
Apogee Topsail is something different for Nick—work from the heart. He believes the right environment, the right people, and the right values can change everything.
Alison is a competitive Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt, she believes athletics are about far more than becoming stronger, faster, or better at a sport. They are one of the most powerful environments for young people to develop discipline, resilience, confidence, leadership, and the ability to do hard things.
Her philosophy is simple: kids are capable of far more than we often give them credit for. The role of a coach isn’t to remove every obstacle from their path, but to give them the tools, encouragement, and opportunities to learn how to overcome those obstacles themselves.
Outside of Topsail Apogee, Alison is the Chief of Marketing and an owner of Johnny Slicks, co-owns Alexander Industries alongside her husband, Nick Koumalatsos, and is the author of How Not to Be a Miserable Cow. She holds a degree in film from Full Sail University and has spent more than 20 years building brands, leading teams, and communicating ideas that move people to action.
As an athlete, coach, entrepreneur, and mother of two boys, Alison brings those worlds together at Topsail Apogee. Her goal as Athletics Director is not simply to create physically capable students, but to use movement, competition, teamwork, and challenge to help develop capable human beings.
She believes strength is something we build in our bodies, our character, and our communities and that one of our greatest responsibilities is passing those lessons on to the next generation...
Dimitri Koumalatsos (Mitri) is 6 years old, insanely well-spoken, and already knows exactly who he is. He's a force on the jiu-jitsu mats and at the gym, quick on his feet, and perceptive in the way that catches adults off guard. He's also the kind of kid who packs extra toys so he always has something to share with his friends. His perfect night: a Nerf gun battle, Legos, burger night, and a movie in that order.
Mitri is also the reason Apogee Topsail exists. The school was built around a simple belief: kids are capable. So Mitri works alongside the adults to make sure we stay centered on the needs of the kids. His perspective matters here—and that's the whole point.
See if Apogee is right for your family
Apply to join our founding cohort—or book a 30-minute call first if you'd like to talk through your child, your hopes, and whether this community is the right fit.