Got More Than I Expected…learning and nature

So after a week in Cullowhee at NCCAT I would say that this photo pretty much sums up my experience. Overall it was unexpected, intimidating, and exciting all at the same time. I expected to meet a lot of new people, especially since there are a total of 49 teachers, but I did not expect to walk away with so many new connections and friendships with people across the state. All of the teachers that I had a chance to interact with shared a love of teaching and a desire to create innovative and engaging opportunities for students. There were times during the week that I began to feel quite scared of not being able to meet the expectations that have been laid out in front of me. Interacting with different Kenan alum had me asking myself if I will ever be able to live up to the standards and work that they have done throughout the years. I believe that this is a good kind of fear though because it will push me to work harder in order to continue to drive all of the work that fellows have done in the past. I do know that the kind of fear and surprise that I felt when I saw that HUGE spider above was a bad kind of fear. The kind of fear that creeps up and actually speaks to you, yeah I’m pretty sure that spider spoke to me that day on the river. So hopefully I won’t experience any of that deep fear throughout my fellowship unless it is one of the interesting experiments that I am part of in the lab this summer. The most exciting time throughout the week was the team building opportunities such as rafting and patio PD with other fellows. These were the times that I felt everyone’s barriers broke down and people were able to let loose and enjoy the company of new friends. We shared so many personal stories and laughter and at the same time created some of our own stories and memories with each other. It was such a dynamic group of people and getting a chance to know each of these new friends allowed me to learn more about them, myself, and education. I truly enjoyed my time at NCCAT and look forward to all of the exciting, intimidating, and unexpected adventures that we have ahead of us.