As our conversations have quickly turned from the start of school to our rafting and outdoor trips, I thought I would take a second to reflect on what I have seen over the last 16 years of watching these great excursions. The excitement that comes with these experiences throughout all of our divisions is visible everywhere at Riverstone.

This year, as our faculty gathered for our kick-off meeting we spoke of student wellness and happiness. Study after study has linked both of these factors with what occurs on our trips. Being surrounded by the beauty of the Payette River, or watching the sun set and the moon rise over the cliffs at the end of a Sawtooth lake, are images that not only last a lifetime but lend us a lens to look at all that we do differently. Nature allows us to better see our place in the world and gives our students an opportunity for awe.

As a college counselor, I have been blessed to read many of the essays written by our graduating seniors. Many write about Riverstone's Outdoor Education and what it means to them. Learning to work together through an unexpected snowstorm, coming together to fix a broken tent in the wind, thinking on the fly to navigate a lost trail, or unexpectedly emerging as a "leader by example" - these experiences forever change students and how they see themselves and their peers. Our students college essays reflect a moment of growth and newly found self-knowledge, which often comes from difficulty, failure, unfamiliarity, and risk taking. These are real and vital experiences that help shape our students into the young adults they are meant to be.

Our graduates leave here with a strong sense of place that has been nurtured through the years that they have grown in our Outdoor Education program. On their last night together on their final outdoor trip in the spring of their Senior year, Ben Brock has them share their favorite Riverstone outdoor stories. Some have become true outdoor experts, some outdoor appreciators; regardless, their comments about the richness that the beauty of Hells Canyon or Southern Utah or Eastern Idaho has brought to their lives is palpable and moving.

For our students, it starts on a raft as a youngster in a river bigger than imagination. Years later, they leave Riverstone after being put face-to-face each semester with (to steal from the Great Gatsby), "something commensurate with their own capacity for wonder."