School as Family
SITW taught me that being in nature can heal and ground me in many ways. Nature gives a sense of family you don’t get from a regular school. Having a year surrounded by the natural world also inadvertently makes you conscious of it, and it’s not a belief that is easily shaken.
Abi has always maintained a connection to SITW. I admire her for putting herself out there and taking risks outside her comfort zone. She makes us proud.
-Jon Wuerth
In this setting, I remember more belonging and love than I ever could have expected. Without this experience broadening my horizons, I would not have the courage to pursue a degree in journalism, nor would I have been confident enough to go to Northern Arizona University. It’s out-of-state yet familiar, as the Flagstaff area keeps me as connected to the environment as I was at SITW.
School in the Woods taught me about integrity – the importance of doing things right when no one else is looking – and that same philosophy is central to being an effective journalist. Through the lens of the natural world, I have learned that the easy path does not create the best results. You need to consider the impact of your actions on others. You are a truth-seeker who describes how actions affect not just you, but your readers, your publication, your community, and the entire world.
Recently, I returned to SITW to reset my psyche after a rough first year of college. I needed to re-ground and realize that I’m just a small part of something much bigger than myself. The SITW experience is just one year, but it cannot be replicated by anything I’ve ever seen or heard. What I learned there about myself and others became even more relevant as I grew up.