NYA teens explore Glacier Bay

This summer, North Yarmouth Academy students returned to the wilds of Glacier Bay, Alaska. As the culmination of the Literature of Glacier Bay course, members of the class ventured into Glacier Bay National Park on sea kayaks to experience the vast wilderness they spent a semester reading about, studying and preparing to visit. They spent a week of their 10-day journey immersed in the unspoiled landscape 55 miles from the nearest road, paddling, hiking, camping and, of course, writing.

“My experience in Glacier Bay left me entirely soul-stirred while I was simultaneously creating a memory with my peers,” Reese Merritt said. “My thoughts, feelings, personality and even my friendships were enhanced, reflecting the senses of the landscape.”

Eliza Tod commented, “I had read so many books about Alaska and the inside passage in my final two years of high school that I had very high expectations, and everything we saw and experienced went above those expectations. (T)he glaciers were bigger and bluer than I could have imagined, the sea otters were even cuter and the whales even more peaceful than they are in the pictures. I could go on forever.” 

Teens hit the trails

Dollars for scholars

The Freeport Maine Rotary Club announced the recipients of its 2021 scholarships for graduating high school seniors in Freeport, Pownal and Durham. Since its inception in 1982 the Freeport Rotary Club has granted over $120,000 in scholarships to local high school seniors.

The scholarship committee has awarded the following students scholarships: Aynslie Decker, Durham, University of New England, Stephen B. Leighton Memorial Scholarship, $2,000; Brianna Foley, Freeport, UMaine Orono, Beth Willhoite Memorial Scholarship, $1,500; Jane Dawson, Pownal, Macalester University, Gordon Glover Memorial Scholarship, $1,500; Sydney Morrison, Freeport, University of Southern Maine, Ken Toner Memorial Scholarship, $1,500.