Three BFA students spent the day today at UVM with students and teachers from four other Vermont high schools as well as graduate students and professors from UVM’s Department of Community Development and Applied Economics.
Students were engaged in informational and participatory lectures by UVM professors. They toured the campus and collaborated to analyze data. Students conceptualized the stories and contexts, gaining understanding of the meaning behind the numbers and why it matters.
“We got to go down to the UVM campus to listen to some workshops on the different aspects of building communities. It was really cool to be able to interact with other student leaders and representatives from other small community towns from around Vermont. We all were able to relate to each other about the annoyances of not having a lot to do, having to drive to other towns to have fun, having limited food options, etc. The information that was presented to us was useful, and in addition to that, was presented in the way that made the information easy to retain. I won a free CDEA t-shirt, got a free tour of the school, and was treated to one of the best breakfasts that I’ve had in QUITE some time! I’m very excited to go back in December.”
– Moses D, Senior Class of 2017 BFA Fairfax
Together, our student leaders are embarking on a collaborative project looking at and working with data from our local communities to create a data book that we will be sharing with the other students as well as with our community. Students will be continuing their work throughout the remainder of the school year, culminating with a Dual Enrollment course at UVM this spring.
Of course, the students had more than a little fun along the way during their UVM visit!
“We learned about what others were doing to help their community. It was a very useful tool to see what we can do even as high schoolers and how we can collaborate with other high schoolers. We had a blast, but learned plenty as well.”
– Alex H, BFA Fairfax HS Student
The FWSU Story 