Armstrong Scholars 2014: Reflections from Kelsey Wong
After coming back from the Joie Armstrong Scholars program, I am not the same person.
There are times I find myself studying in the library, growing frustrated at the complexity of a math problem and for a second, I take a breath and give my heart a chance to speak. “Hey, you climbed a mountain before. You went 2 weeks without a shower. You hiked through the blazing sun, through the vehement rain, through thunder and hail. This math problem isn’t a mountain, and it certainly does not have anything on you.”
There are times I find myself chuckling randomly into the open air when a joke from the trip pops into my head. I laugh and laugh, so badly wanting the share the laughter with my fellow sisters—scattered across the United States—but it’s just me in the crowd, the crowd to whom even if I take a million days to explain my Armstrong experience, won’t be able to grasp it fully. Because there are some things you learn and see while living in the Yosemite backcountry for two weeks that simply cannot be described in words alone.
There are times I cannot fall asleep in my bed and wish to be in my sleeping bag, where the rock-studded ground and the star-shrouded night are parallel to each other and I am but a mere point on the ground line, yet sturdy enough that the wind does not blow me off the earth’s surface. I am an Armstrong Scholar.
What I learned and gained #
Joie’s trip taught me about myself. Before I enjoyed looking at trees but it is a completely different experience to rest and eat under their shade, realizing how much more they have learned during their century-old lives then I have learned in my 18 years. When I went on the first 0.3 miles of the journey, my backpack another human clinging on for dear life, I wanted to leave, afraid I wouldn’t make the 60-something mile journey, sure that they picked the wrong person for this trip, a person who considered a 1.3 mile run the most horrendous part of high school. But that’s exactly it: you need to take risks to grow, to find who you are and what the status of your heart is. The Armstrong Scholars trip pushes you to emotional and physical limits—limits I purposefully avoided. But it is coming to these limits that we arrive at the front gates of our hearts and demand for the gates to open up. We let our masks fall off and let honesty flow. We let authenticity shine. We find strength where we thought there was none and joy in sharing our deepest pains and struggles with each other.
There are a thousand and two memories from this trip that I hold in my deepest pockets. Yes, it was the best two weeks of my life. And yes, there were time I felt small and insignificant under the blanket of the universe, but we were all there together.
There is nothing like the camaraderie that grows deep roots when you put together 15 crazy burly girls, place them in the majestic wild for two weeks, and let them see the wild, majestic beauty in themselves and in each other. The warmth of that unity (shout out to my spooning buddy, Olivia) brings so much life into your body, reminding you how beautiful it is to be alive.
Thank you Joie, for teaching me how to gulp life.
Stories
2024 Student of the Year: Kai Diaz
At NatureBridge, we celebrate the stewards of today and foster the development of the stewards of tomorrow, working to inspire environmental stewardship in all our participants. Our goal is to motivate our students to make waves and be changemakers in their communities and for our planet.
Each year, NatureBridge honors a student who has demonstrated leadership, growth and a commitment to protecting our natural world as a result of their participation in a NatureBridge program. This year’s honoree will be recognized and will speak at An Evening Outside with NatureBridge on Thursday, May 16 at our Golden Gate campus.
We are thrilled to announce our 2024 Student of the Year: Kai Diaz.
An Interview with Evening Outside Keynote Speaker Dr. Britt Wray
The minute we found out about the work of Dr. Britt Wray, we knew we wanted to learn more about her. A well-respected author and scientist, Dr. Wray possesses expertise in an area of research we talk about a lot at NatureBridge—specifically how we can be resilient, hopeful, and actionable amid a changing world, including the climate crisis. We’re thrilled that Dr. Wray will be joining us on May 16 for An Evening Outside with NatureBridge as our Featured Speaker. Ahead of the event, we had the chance to ask her a few questions relating to her work and her connection to the mission of NatureBridge.
Staff Spotlight: Appreciation for Miho Aida
Miho Aida (she/they) has held several roles at NatureBridge over the past twenty-four years, including Environmental Science Educator, Community Connection Coordinator, Field Staff Scientist, Marine Project Coordinator, Pacific Rim Environmental Education Specialist, Armstrong Scholars Educator, Diversity Coordinator, Equity and Inclusion Manager, and Director of Equity and Inclusion. Now, on the eve of their departure, we asked them to reflect on their time at NatureBridge and share a bit about their upcoming adventures.