High schoolers conquer the Rockies
After biking more than 300 miles through the Rocky Mountains, the group of five high schoolers involved in Western Carolina University’s Project Discovery program had accumulated a long list of firsts.
“It was a very good trip,” said Emma Dingle, a rising 10th-grader at Swain County High School. “I should’ve kept a list of everything.”
The Project Discovery program, funded by the U.S. Department of Education and hosted by WCU, was a combination of challenge, leadership development and personal discovery.
“I feel like we learned a lot about group dynamics and how a group actually works,” said Dustin Leo, also a rising 10th-grader at Swain. “We learned a lot of different systems that help identify how a group is ready and how to adapt to group readiness. When we had to do our own leader of the day tasks, it really helped a lot to understand how to move the group forward.”
The group, led by project director Todd Murdock, began its ride in Silverthorne, Colorado and ended up in Platoro, Colorado. The 13-day trip featured several 4 a.m. wakeup calls before riding some 50-mile stretches, or climbing elevations as high as 11,542-foot Hoosier Pass.
“I’ll remember the views,” Dingle said. “For example, at the top of Hoosier Pass it looked like ‘The Sound of Music,’ the introductory shot.”
