I Am One of Them

Guest post written by Miles Bowlin, Lead Operations Staff

Outside the realm of religion, it is perhaps educators who hold the most faith. They bare their souls to students, working tirelessly to instill in them knowledge, not only about the arts and sciences, but about being a good human. Then, after a predetermined period of time, they let those students go, often never to see them again. The kindergarten math teacher can only hope that their foundational lessons in addition and subtraction will stick and one day compound into a proclivity for algebra and geometry. Hope—that is the key word. It’s nigh impossible to see the impact of work that matures at the same rate that children grow into adults.

At Science Adventure School (SAS), our entire team hopes to empower students to think like scientists, feel confident that they can pursue their dreams in West Virginia, and explore their identities in the context of a larger Appalachian community. However, after three short nights with each group, we find ourselves once more standing on the side of the road, waving to departing school buses. When one student pulls down a small window and shoves their head out, emotionally rattling off a series of goodbyes, we know we’ve impacted their life in some form… But so many of the long-term questions remain.

Fortunately, I find myself in a unique position because I am one of those kids, just all grown-up and a bit more introspective. I was raised in West Virginia and even attended one of the schools that now participate in SAS. Because I didn't have a program like SAS ten years ago, I didn’t know I could connect with myself and my state by paddling its world class rivers, biking its rugged trails, and climbing its tons of unearthed rocks. I believed that by excelling academically, I was beating the odds, and that my ultimate goal should be to leave West Virginia, a state that had nothing to offer me. While I eventually encountered the outdoors and subsequently the people of West Virginia in a way that profoundly changed my perspective, many of my peers never deviated from this fallacious way of thinking. For West Virginia to endure and eventually overcome its many formidable challenges, such as severe economic downturn and addiction, its youth must believe it is a state worthy of saving.

Science Adventure School addresses this need and plays an essential role in the development of West Virginia’s youth: it doesn’t tell them that they can succeed despite being from West Virginia, it tells them they can succeed because they are from West Virginia. Staff travel from the far reaches of the world just to spend time with our kids, telling them that they’re special and could never be overlooked. Programming focuses on transcending barriers, like socioeconomic status, and creating positive exposure to activities students can continue to pursue at both local venues and the most scenic landscapes in the state. The meaning of SAS is clear to me because I grew up in its absence. Science Adventure School is a love song about West Virginia that its educators sing earnestly, and I don’t need to rely on hope alone that the youth of West Virginia hear it, because I can hear it now, too.