Proctor Academy's spring Mountain Classroom students are off and running (or hiking) on the adventure of their lifetime. For the next eight weeks this group of ten students and two instructors will criss cross the American west, winding their way back to New Hampshire through Colorado and the Great Plains before eventually pulling onto campus, parking in front of Maxwell Savage Hall to sprint the rotunda stairs and ring the bell. As Stewart '22 and Alana '23 share in their beautiful prose below, it is the journey itself where students grow, stretch, and evolve as young people. Enjoy this window into the Mountain Classroom experience. 

Throughout our first week of being here in Vauvenargues, France has been extraordinary. Our group has gotten so close within a short period of time and the memories we have made so far are enlightening.

European Art Classroom teaches each student how to be an avid traveler, as we are constantly immersing ourselves in various cities that hold new cultures, languages, and cuisine. As Florence, Italy was the third and final weeklong trip, each of us had the routine down to a tee.

Proctor’s Winter Ocean Classroom program took on a new theme this year as we joined forces with the MET School of Providence, Rhode Island and Sailing Ships Maine to design a shared trimester at sea program that would sail from Charleston, South Carolina around Florida to Mobile, Alabama. Along the way, students from Proctor and the MET School studied historic Southern ports, involuntary servitude, and the lasting impact of slavery on both economic and social systems throughout America. 

Time really flew when I came to realize that it was the second to last week of our journey here in France. When I first knew that I would be the one writing our blog this week, I was worried—things happened too fast to get ready.

Proctor Academy's winter 2022 Mountain Classroom program has come to an end after ten weeks of exploring, adventuring, learning, and bonding as a group. The off-campus experience is like none other, pushing students so far outside their comfort zone that individuals learn to rely on each other, and to understand fully the impact of their individual actions on the well-being of the group. For this Mountain Classroom group, like all groups, that learning has laid a foundation for the rest of their lives. Read more from Colin '22 and Calista '22 in these final reflections from the term. 

I will be graduating in less than 100 days. This monumental transition has been making me reflect on my time at Proctor and it’s helping me seize every single day here on European Art Classroom. No other school has a program like this in the entire world.

Each of Proctor's five term-long off-campus provides a unique experience to students. For the six sophomores studying abroad in Monteverde, Costa Rica, living and learning in one of the most biodiverse regions in the world provides a hands-on learning laboratory unlike any other. Read reflections from the group's recent hike into the Children's Eternal Rainforest by Presley '24, Willem '24, and Hayden '24 in this blog post!