How a South Carolina family found a like-minded community at Acton University.
Where do a realtor father with a master’s degree in economics and a daughter with a passion for research go to find like-minded people? For Haro and Isabella Setian, the answer was Acton University.
And answers aren’t easy to find. Haro is a self-described ‘serial entrepreneur’ who runs a successful real estate practice out of Greenville, South Carolina. For years, he noted with concern the way mainstream evangelicalism seemed to have a “degree of separation” from culture outreach. Haro’s perspective changed, however, when his pastor played a video from Acton’s For the Life of the World one Sunday. To Haro, this was something different: cultural engagement and outreach, but backed up by Acton’s rigorous scholarship in faith and economics. As more of the faith-based world has focused on the culture, and as Haro notes, “it seems to be in vogue to be in the freedom and virtue space,” few organizations have caught his eye like the Acton Institute.
Acton’s ideas, which Haro first encountered almost a decade ago, remained a part of the Setian’s philanthropic ministry for years after that. And in 2024, a member of Acton’s team told Haro about Acton’s latest initiative: piloting a new leadership formation track for impressive high-school age students around the world. Haro decided to take the plunge and attend Acton University 2025.
His daughter, Isabella, came into the conference unsure of what to expect: “I mean, it’s an economic, religion-based conference.” But Acton University’s high school initiative provided her with something lasting: a community of like-minded people. Acton’s cohort of 25 high school students brings together a wide range of entrepreneurial, innovative young people, and gives them real life experience with the timeless ideas of freedom and virtue that they take back to their communities, educational goals, and business endeavors. For Isabella, one of the many business owners in Acton’s high school cohort, being able to connect with other young, intellectually curious entrepreneurs was a fantastic experience. “I often don’t have that sort of connection with people [at home],” she pointed out, noting how Acton’s programming brought her in contact with the other 24 standout students from around the world selected for the High School Fellows: “I got the chance to get to meet different people, and I met so many like-minded people.”
Isabella described her favorite session, Dr. Clara Piano’s lecture on economic solutions to the fertility gap, igniting a passion for demographic research. “Who else would go to that?” she asked about Acton’s high school fellowship. The answer was a surprising but encouraging one: “people who think like me.” Aside from Acton University’s core programming, Isabella also appreciated specialized sessions for High School Fellows, including breakouts, Q&A sessions, deeper dives on seminars, and a screening of Acton’s award-winning documentary Poverty, Inc. During four days at Acton University, Isabella met students from all around the world, including a fellow high schooler from Brazil who would go on to become one of her good friends.
Isabella, who does speech and debate while at home in South Carolina, also came away from the conference with a renewed appreciation for Acton’s ability to spark conversation between people of vastly varied religious backgrounds. “There’s a lot of people there from many different faith backgrounds, Catholic, Protestant,” she noted. “Acton provided a good space to be able to explore that.” For high school age students in particular, Acton’s programming is unique — almost no other organizations are working to provide educational resources for future leaders like Isabella
“I’ve been to a lot of conferences and similar events,” Haro points out about his first time at Acton University. “This was really well-organized, the development team is very proactive,” he says with a chuckle and a nod to one of the conference’s distinctives: “The food is top-notch. That’s definitely not something you can say about every conference.” Haro was impressed with the highlights of Acton University 2025, which included keynote speeches from distinguished scholars such as Dr. Arthur Brooks — whose Tuesday dinner speech inspired him to go out and purchase Brooks’ latest book, From Strength to Strength.
Haro was also struck by the impact of Acton scholars like Dr. Anthony Bradley, particularly Bradley’s incredibly popular conference lecture on fatherhood. For him, it wasn’t just the lecture but the engagement that Acton scholars bring to the public square, particularly online. “They have social media,” he points out, noting the importance of elevating voices like Brooks and Bradley in an online world often dominated by bad faith actors. “They’re engaging.”
For Haro and Isabella both, though, the biggest takeaway was the warmth of the Acton University experience. When asked what he’d tell prospective Acton attendees, Haro pauses for a minute. “If you care about these topics,” he muses, “it feels like home.”
As the Setians continue their work in real estate and nonprofit ministry, they continue to reflect on the impact of Acton University’s unifying effect. In Haro’s words, “It feels like a family reunion. It’s a lot of people who care about these topics together. There’s a warmth there.” More than a decade after he first encountered the Acton Institute’s ideas, Haro continues to be inspired and animated by the mission to create a free and virtuous society.
“I’m thankful that Acton exists. I think that it’s unique, and in a class by itself.”