The state of the school: FY 2012

Staff, faculty , advisory council members, and NOLS Board of Trustees gathered in Lander, Wyo. last Friday for the annual board and committee meetings. The weekend commenced with State of the School addresses by new Board Chair Kate Gunness Williams, NOLS Executive Director John Gans, and the executive director team.

Celebrations of a successful year were muted by the memory of a tragedy that marked the first weeks of fiscal year 2012. Thomas Plotkin, a student who died on a course approximately a year ago, was solemnly honored and remembered throughout the morning. His name and loss has reverberated throughout the school over the past year and will continue to do so into the future of NOLS.

The future was the topic of a good deal of this year’s addresses, as 2013 is the final year of the current strategic plan: Expedition 2013. New goals are beginning to form, and as this strategic plan enters its final year, a number of goals have been reached and were justly highlighted.

Friday morning saw an overview of those successes, which include the following:

NOLS undertook and has nearly completed Wyss Wilderness Medicine Campus, an outstanding embodiment of the importance of wilderness medicine at NOLS. Later that day, guests were welcomed to a dedication ceremony and tour of the facility. Read more on County 10 and WyoFile.

Lindsay D'Addato photo

NOLS enrolled and educated a record number of students, in addition to providing a great deal of education for our staff and faculty such as the second annual Faculty Summit. Furthermore, NOLS provided a record amount of scholarships this year.

NOLS was recognized as an outstanding employer by Outside Magazine and the Nonprofit Times.

Fiscal year 2012 was the school’s second biggest year in fundraising history, allowing NOLS to focus on strong student outcomes, expand our capabilities (such as the Wyss campus), and ensure we remain the leader in wilderness education well into the future.

Punctuating the year, NOLS Director of Operations Deborah Nunnink read from a letter written by a NOLS parent:

“It’s been three months since our son returned from his semester, and I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for his experience and all that you taught him.... You showed him respect, kindness, and encouragement, tempered with firmness and control. You made a real difference in his life in more ways than you could ever know. Sam returned home a much different young man. A young man who could own his mistakes, listen respectfully to those who disagree with him, and take responsibility for his own actions. He returned home a confident, happy person with a clear vision of his future.”