“I drove across country twice, spent four months in the Southwest United States, rafted through the Grand Canyon, rocked climbed all over the state of Arizona, visited seven national parks, and had an amazing time throughout my entire experience. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”
Hometown: Somerville, New Jersey
Major: Environmental Studies, concentration in sustainable agriculture
Eco League School I Attend: Green Mountain College
Courses I Took: Environmental Perspectives of Whitewater Rafting, Introduction to Rock Climbing, Foundations of Chemistry, Principles of Small-Scale Agriculture
Fun Things to Do in the Area: Rock climb, bike ride, boulder, hike, go to In and Out Burger, chill with awesome people, party in the desert, marvelous national parks within several hours of Prescott, tons of local microbrews.
My Best Excursion/Adventure There: Whitewater rafted 300 miles down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon over 21 days straight and got credit for it.
Best Time to Go: I wouldn’t want to be there for the entire summer, so I would recommend between the end of August to December. It doesn’t get cold enough to have to wear a jacket, so I was in shorts and rock climbing until the end of November.
What to Read Up on Before You Go: National park guides, atlas of the local areas, topographic maps, geology books, and local flora and fauna books, because the biodiversity down there is unlike anything up in the Northeast.
What is Unique About the People There: Most of the incoming freshmen are over the age of 24, but there are a lot of younger students who are beginning to apply. It is a mix of students from all over the country. In fact, most of the student body was composed of students from the East Coast. There are a lot of characters at Prescott, a lot of interesting people.
Faculty Members I Most Enjoyed Working With: Joel Barnes, Rebecca Routson, Phil Latham, Kathy Shroeder, and Tom Pettit. They are all extremely amazing and dedicated individuals. This is the impression I received from all of the professors I was privileged to meet at Prescott College.
Reasons to Participate in an Eco League Experience: It is a great chance to visit an unknown destination and meet new people with entirely different perspectives. I was exposed to several aspects of environmental recreation that had been a part of my earlier life in grade school, but that I had not gotten the chance to explore since. I pushed my personal boundaries when I was out there and came out a better, more cultured individual for it. I drove across country twice, spent four months in the Southwest United States, rafted through the Grand Canyon, rocked climbed all over the state of Arizona, visited seven national parks, and had an amazing time throughout my entire experience. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.