Our second week in Arizona went by really fast. We spent almost every night sitting around the dining room table working on our Art History book project and painting almost everyday.

After an exhilarating first week of exploration and acclimation, we found ourselves preparing for our first expedition in Utah at Coyote Gulch. The day leading up to this journey was filled with much excitement and organization. Before we were to head out, we had to pack up our backpacks with a variety of basic essentials, among them, group gear, clothing, a week’s worth of meals and WAG bags.

This Sunday, after one hour of sleep and a two hour drive to Boston, I boarded the early morning flight to Vegas with all but two of my Mountain Classroom mates. The flight was long, long enough to do some real thinking. I sat in my seat, contemplating my decision to go on this trip. Was I prepared? 

Going with European (Southwest) Art program has been the best decision of my entire Proctor career so far. Ten of us, Beth, Caroline, Dave, Jules, Jen, Maeve, Maxx, Stella, Toby, and I, all live in a beautiful house where the magnificent landscape is right on our doorsteps.

After three decades of successful fall semester at sea programs, Proctor Academy has expanded its Ocean Classroom programs with a new eight week winter program at sea voyaging aboard the iconic Maine Schooner Harvey Gamage. Proctor’s fall semester program has run for the past 27 years in a row, most recently aboard Roseway, and has set an educational standard that has increased student demand beyond the capacity of one sailing ship. Now, Proctor will be working with two ships, Roseway and Gamage, thus enabling additional students to access the thrill and adventure of going to sea. 

Two months ago, a group of ten Proctor students and two instructors arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada to launch Proctor’s winter Mountain Classroom program during what would be the most challenging months of the Covid-19 global pandemic. The past eight weeks have been nothing short of life-changing for those ten students. Read about their final independent student group expedition through the eyes of Ayla below. 

For the first time ever, Proctor Academy offered a winter Ocean Classroom program. Based in St. Croix, the program partnered with the World Ocean School to offer eight students the opportunity to study, explore, and serve others within the St. Croix and surrounding island communities. Read student journal entries from the past two weeks below. A huge thank you to the World Ocean School, Holly, Ocean Classroom director Brooks Bicknell '77, and the crew of Roseway for making this adventure happen! 

February 15 2021: After a hearty breakfast it was time for the long awaited and highly anticipated solo briefing. After being constantly reminded over the course of the term that “all questions about solo will be answered at the solo briefing”, we were extremely curious and prepared. Quinn and Erica explained what we were doing and how solos would work. Three nights in the wilderness in complete solitude. Upon being briefed, the room was filled with mixed emotions, some were excited to have some quality time to themselves to relax and others were anxious to be left alone in the wild with no one to talk to. I was somewhere in between.