William Barron:  

Character is defined by how you handle adversity. We all need re-centering more than once in a lifetime. If you focus on perfection, life will always feel just out of reach. I have found that if I depend on people or circumstances beyond my power to influence, I feel that much more powerless. However, if I choose areas in which I have the capacity to make a difference, those pursuits generate meaning and purpose. Five decades ago, my full circle as an educator began as a freshman at CC, where I coached youth soccer and wrestling teams. As a 6th grader at Mountain View Elementary in 1967, I attended the very first High Trails week at their Outdoor Learning Center. Then, in 2023-24, as a middle school counselor at Mountain Ridge, it was as if time stood still when I returned with our students. Likewise, in January 2024, I had the privilege of serving as head official for a wrestling tournament in the same high school gym where I served as a senior varsity wrestling captain along with Jerry Radspinner. In my first twenty-eight years as an educator, I taught English and Life Skills as well as coached soccer, and wrestling, and track in New England boarding schools at the middle and high school levels. The summer experiential and service learning program that I developed earned the NAIS national award for Curriculum Innovation. ...Expand for more