High School Fellowship Program is under way!

This spring semester, Wild River Academy is leading its first semester of our Fellowship Program, in which high school students learn all of the aspects of planning and leading an educational canoe trip through weekly classes and assignments. They will then have opportunities to practice and enjoy what they learned by helping to lead WRA trips over the summer. Subjects we cover related to the planning phase of trips include how to connect with professionals in a related field, how to create interest in your trip through marketing and social media, and how to ask for sponsorships. We are also going to be hitting the water once it warms up to practice our technical skills such as paddling, cooking over a stove, and portaging. In addition, we will be honing leadership skills, learning about the Mississippi and Minnesota River Valleys, and playing lots of games.

We are very excited not only to get to know these outstanding students, but also to learn with them in our first semester of the program. It is exciting to pass along real-world skills to young folks who are eager to learn them and provide them with opportunities to get their boots muddy and their hands wet while helping to lead canoe trips this summer.

Our Spring 2014 Fellows

Olivia Nofzinger

Hello! My name is Olivia. I’m a high school student from St. Paul, Minnesota. I love all things outdoors: hiking, backpacking, canoeing, etc. I’m delighted to be participating in Wild River Academy’s fellowship program and to be gaining all of the great experience the program has to offer.

Anthony Wright was born and raised in the Twin Cities. He currently attends River’s Edge Academy - a small environmental charter high school- and is scheduled to graduate in the spring. After high school, Anthony plans on attending Vermilion Community College to study fisheries and wildlife management. He hopes to one day become a wildlife biologist. 

Anthony’s love for the natural world is a result of the several environmental experiences he’s had with Outward Bound through his high school. Besides the great outdoors, Anthony’s other passions include: photography, parkour, music, and disc sports.

Anthony went on Wild River Academy’s very first high school canoe trip last summer and he is very excited to have the opportunity of planning a canoe trip for his fellow classmates this summer.