It’s been some time since I sat down to write. January 2022. Since then, I accepted a new position and have been a professional community member at Head-Royce for 1 1/2 years as Assistant Head of Middle School. I have thought about writing. It’s not due to a lack of content but instead finding a way to connect my stories and voice to this space. I am still struggling with that. But for today, I reflect.
The summer of 2002 was memorable. It was the last summer I dedicated to summer-long outdoor education opportunities. It was the summer I spent on the Big Island of Hawaii. I had intended on taking that summer off. But my Ford Explorer had just broken down, and I recently bought a new car. This meant I needed to work, and Wilderness Ventures was happy to take me back for a summer on the Big Island. I was excited. From an early age I had always wanted to visit Hawaii.
I have fantasized about returning to the Big Island for years especially while visiting the other islands. There is nothing like “your first". I remember the feeling I had flying into Kona the first time. It was magical. I remember being at the volcanos and seeing how cool it was to see lava flow directly into the ocean. I also recall only having two warm showers all summer. When I bought tickets for my family a couple of months ago, over 20 years later, I didn’t give the island much thought. I was excited to splash in the waves and feel the sand on my feet. I was excited to be on the Big Island of Hawaii but I had no idea what I was in store for me.
That said, returning to the Big Island I felt at peace, and so many memories quickly surfaced. Sitting on a beach just off the large resorts, I recalled being in that ocean in the evening on July 4th. We swam with bioluminescence in the bay as fireworks exploded above us. Every day we passed the helicopter landing zone, I recalled the time Brian had to ask them to pay particular attention to the beach at W bay. I was forced to take 12 students into the backcountry solo do to a case of appendicitis and we were 2 days late coming out of the backcountry due to heavy rains and an impossible river crossing (that’s a story for the books - one that tangles risk managment with what small world we live in). Brian was obviously concerned. As my family adventured around some of island, I remember the supermarkets we stopped in and the two nights we had in a Kona hotel, the barbeque areas at Hapuna Beach, the shaved ice, and the dunking for apples in ice buckets (just for fun)… It was all flooding back.
It was also amazing to experience this island with my family. Since then, I have traveled to many places across the globe and have experienced so much. I loved seeing Gavin try bodyboarding and snorkeling for the first time and for Emmet to build castles in the same sand I once learned about outrigger canoeing on. Quickly, I was transported in time and began reflecting on purpose.
My roots in education, and later my thesis, are grounded in experiential education. My career began teaching sailing, leading backpacking trips, and guiding kids in the outdoors. Over time, I ended up in the classroom and learned how to drive mathematical experiences through PBL and became a leader in global education. But where am I now?
The irony is not lost on me that my mind, body, and heart returned to a place that had a great impact on me, at a time when I myself have began delving into experiential education as a practice here at Head-Royce. I recently finished creating and administrating one of four middle school-wide community engagement days. These days in the field, alongside pre and post work are both effective and enriching. I also signed up for the ISEEN winter conference. The hope is to help guide our middle school in conversation and then action to create experiential education opportunities across the grades. While the primary force has been outdoor ed, their is so much more for our students to experience in conjunction with where we live and what we learn.
This trip to Hawaii gave me exactly what I needed. Time with the family, some sunshine to brighten the day, and an opportunity to return and reflect. As the sun sets on yet another day, I am grateful for the experiences I have had along the way and hopeful to create impactful ones for others for many years to come - whether it be my family or our students. Stay tuned, I might even tell that story about the river crossing soon.