Announcing the 2025 Armstrong Scholars Leaders

My hope for the Armstrong Scholars is that they feel empowered. I hope that they feel seen and that they can see others. I hope that they can connect to the simple beauty and strong power of nature. I hope they can feel confident in themselves and can lean into the discomfort that backpacking brings. I hope that they can learn new parts of themselves and share those with others. I hope they can learn to trust themselves and their bodies, and that they can truly accomplish hard things. I hope they can experience joy and life in a way they never have and hold on to how spectacular it is to let yourself be free when backpacking. I hope they can see the power of female friendships—and understand that being a woman in this world can mean whatever they want it to be. I want them to feel the remarkable awe and power of the Sierras and take all of this with them home afterward. I am fortunate to have been taught by some amazing women before me that showed me the power, beauty, and strength of the wilderness. I am incredibly lucky to have felt these things as a young woman—and I hope to pass that onto the next generation to keep the cycle going.

Peggy McAllister, 2025 Armstrong Scholars Leader

I hope to foster a space that allows exploration of self and community. I firmly believe that the backcountry provides the best space for growth and love, and Joie provides the light to guide us all there. As a leader, I hope to instill fascination and admiration of life in participants. I hope to provide them with and teach them the hard and soft skills necessary to not only survive, but thrive. I want them to know what it feels like to accomplish something hard, and to do so with people who care deeply about them. Through Armstrong, I hope that scholars and leaders alike leave with understanding of their strength, a community to support them, and the sparkle that is Joie and that is this life.

Ivy Moore, 2025 Armstrong Scholars Leader

I hope that the participants feel pride in themselves and their group. I hope they walk away knowing that these wild spaces belong to them, no matter their identity—to explore and to help take care of. I hope the participants understand ways to explore here again if they want to return, and develop hard skills like fire-building, helping them feel self-sufficient and independent. I hope they also feel peace and strength in building a new community within our group. I hope that they have begun to understand themselves better—Are they intrigued by a career in the outdoors? Did they absolutely hate backpacking and never want to do it again? Are they great at seeing the strengths other people have, or telling the perfect joke to encourage their team on a bad day? I hope they accomplish something they didn't know they could at the start of the program.

Katie Smith, 2025 Armstrong Scholars Leader