What is Sophomore Inspire Week?
A week long program focused on college and career preparation, exploration of self, and giving back to the community. By the end of the week each student, with a group of their peers, completed a two-day service project for a non-profit organization in Durango, CO.
Which organization did I work for?
Trails 2000 is a non-profit organization located in Durango, CO. Founded in 1989, Trails 2000 has been building and maintaining trails in the community of Durango, Silverton and the towns surrounding them. Not only are they responsible for building trails, but educating trail users as well. For the past 29 years, Trails 2000 has been an important part of the Durango community.
My Reflection:
Going in to this week, I was not excited. I was stressed out because of missing my other classes, and basically taking a week off from all of them. I also never thought it would be very much fun. Despite all of my negative expectations, it turned out to be an amazing week.
The first two days of sophomore inspire week were very valuable to me. Not only did I learn, helpful tips on resume building and scholarships, but I learned about a whole new way to prepare for college. The platforms we were introduced to were fascinating, and some that I will definitely access and use in the next few years. The college application process has changed so much in this age of technology, and Zeemee is one of those changes. Zeemee is something I know I will use for the rest of my high-school career. I love creating films/videos and I love the idea of colleges seeing my experiences right before their eyes. Zeemee was one of may platforms that I am so excited about using in the future. The first two days were good, but never in a million years did I think I would have loved the service project as much as I did. Not only did I get to be outdoors, but I feel I bonded with my peers so much more than I could in a classroom. Going outside of the classroom and into nature is one of the many amazing opportunities we are given at Animas. Being an outdoor-lover myself, this is one of the reasons I chose Animas. I learned so much about the outdoors and trail building/maintaining during this project. One of many things I learned is how to assess the condition of trails. This really changed how I view trails, and keeping them nice. Before this week, I still valued trails and how they looked, but I never realized how much time and effort goes into maintaining trails. In the future when I use trails, I will keep this in mind and always do as much as I can to keep the trails I use in good condition. Throughout the course of the two-days, I bonded with my peers more than I thought I would during high school, let alone in two days. I really believe that one of the best ways to bond with people, is to go outdoors. The level of bonding I felt reminds me very much of the Sophomore camping trip. I had the chance to lean on peers that I didn’t know as well, and have fun and joke around with ones that maybe I did know already. Overall it was a really fun week, of playing around outside, and learning about nature with some people I will be friends with for a long time. |
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