Where have you been going to school?

“I am attending the High Mountain Institute in Colorado.”

What’s boarding like, especially going from a day school?

“It’s different. Here it’s not really like boarding because we live in these log cabins that are heated by a wood stove, so it’s a bit different from a regular boarding school. It’s cool though, because we all live together, so we have eleven guys living together in a cabin.”

What does your daily schedule look like?

“There are longer periods, so I have an hour and 30 minute classes. But the classes are taught by young teachers who are interested in what they’re teaching, so they go by pretty quickly. So the classes are very interesting and the teachers are very interesting, but they are a lot longer. I am not taking a language here because I am taking French from back home, so I have more frees than usual which is really nice. But the daily schedule is workout in the morning, then breakfast, then three classes, then lunch, then another three classes, and then we have study hall. There’s also school on Saturdays.”

What do you do on expeditions?

“We still have some work, but we don’t really have math there because it’s hard to have a calculator and stuff, but we do English, science, and history.”

What’s your favorite part?

“It’s a really close-knit community. It’s a little middle-school, but in a good way. There’s only 40 kids so everyone knows everybody, and they’re all nice to everybody.”

How is it different from PDS?

“Academically, it’s pretty similar. Teachers are interesting, and the teaching styles are similar. But I mean we’re out here in the wilderness so the courses and curriculum are a little different, and the classes are smaller. All the kids are really, really engaged, and we’re also living in the middle of nowhere in Colorado. Sometimes we get to go into town, which is fun.”

What are the people like?

“It’s pretty goofy and silly. You can probably find some pretty funny pictures of us on Facebook. We all like to go out and dress up and flare. Everybody is pretty outdoorsy, for the most part. We just love hanging out. We’re all just trying something new, and they’re open to new things, which is really cool. Also, kids are just generally willing to help out and pretty nature conscious. I am a cabin rep, which is an elected leader of my cabin. I pitch ideas to the teachers and the faculty here if we want something different, so that’s a cool thing that I do here.”

Are there kids from all over the country at the school?

“Yeah, sort of. Most of the kids are from the Northeast. There is one kid from my cabin who is from Santa Monica and he has a really funny accent. There’s actually one kid from Denver, which is about two hours away from here. There’s not many kids from New Jersey though.”