SITW taught me that being in nature can heal and ground me in many ways. Nature gives a sense of family you don\u2019t get from a regular school. Having a year surrounded by the natural world also inadvertently makes you conscious of it, and it\u2019s not a belief that is easily shaken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>-Jon Wuerth<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s out-of-state yet familiar, as the Flagstaff area keeps me as connected to the environment as I was at SITW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n School in the Woods taught me about integrity \u2013 the importance of doing things right when no one else is looking \u2013 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019m 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\u2019ve ever seen or heard. What I learned there about myself and others became even more relevant as I grew up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SITW taught me that being in nature can heal and ground me in many ways. Nature gives a sense of family you don\u2019t get from a regular school. Having a year surrounded by the natural world also inadvertently makes you conscious of it, and it\u2019s not a belief that is easily shaken.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1958,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[33],"class_list":["post-2345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","tag-kinnikinnik2014"],"yoast_head":"\n