High school students who are interested in earning college credit in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park now have until June 13 to enroll in the Great Smokies Experience.
First held in 2013, this innovative course designed for rising juniors and seniors is administered by professional educators from Maryville College, the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont and Mountain Challenge.
Through hands-on experiences that are focused on the themes of ecology, sustainability and a sense of place, students explore humans’ relationships to nature. At the conclusion of the program, they will earn three credit hours in Environmental Issues 101.
“You really understand environmental issues much more deeply when you experience them yourself. For example, to climb to the top of Mt. LeConte under your own power, and to observe the fragility of that high-altitude ecosystem firsthand – this is a profound and moving experience,” said Dr. Doug Sofer, one of the course instructors and coordinator of the program. “The Great Smokies Experience connects you with these issues with an intensity that a traditional classroom simply can’t approach.”
The course begins July 18 and concludes July 27. Participants will spend most of the time living and camping at Tremont in the national park, and the remaining time living on campus at Maryville College. Although the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the cornerstone of this experience, students will also take a canoe trip to the Tellico Reservoir, take an interpretive hike in the Maryville College Woods and take excursions to other significant sites.
“This comparative focus will allow students to reflect on different natural resource management philosophies and their consequences,” Sofer explained.
Last year’s participants included East Tennesseans as well as teens from New York, Virginia and Florida.
Jack Deighton of Sarasota, Fla., and Hannah Kirby of Knoxville, Tenn., both participants last year, said they would recommend the course to other high school students.
“It’s not a two-week summer camp – it’s a real college experience,” Kirby, a Karns High School graduate, said of the course. “The professors challenge you to think outside of the high-school box. It’s also a ton of fun because you really bond with your peers and mentors, and who doesn’t like a day-long hike with friends?”
Deighton said he enjoyed the “interactive and involved way to learn about the nature and uniqueness of the Smoky Mountains.”
“By taking this class, I’ve been able to understand how different aspects of nature affect each other and why it’s important,” he said. The total cost to enroll in the Great Smokies Experience is $1,495, which includes room, food and all other student expenses during the class, including transportation between Maryville College, Tremont and other sites. For more information and to apply, visit www.maryvillecollege.edu/gse, read the blog at www.greatsmokiesexperience.com or call Dr. Doug Sofer at 865.981.8265.