Mouth of the River

From the Patagonia mountains of Chile to the remote forests of rural Maine, students are extending their learning far beyond the walls of Oyster River High School (ORHS). Whether across the world or in their own backyard, these opportunities are allowing passionate individuals to learn real-world skills that will stick with them for the rest of their lives. Here are a few Bobcats who are breaking the mold of traditional education and bringing their experiences and newly acquired expertise all the way back to Durham. 

Harley Kachadorian  

Last semester, Harley Kachadorian (‘26) attended Alzar School, an immersive educational experience that aims to blend traditional academics with cultural exploration and outdoor adventure. 

With a home base in Cascade, Idaho, the natural environment is a strong focus in the program’s teaching philosophy. Kachadorian says, “It opened my eyes to a lot of new outdoor education opportunities, and that’s kind of formed [my idea of] what I want to do and how I want to do it for the rest of my life.” 

The program also places a huge emphasis on travel and cultural immersion, even while students are still completing an American curriculum. “[We spent] two and a half months in Patagonia, Chile, where we did English classes like it was an American school,” says Kachadorian. While the 25 students learning alongside Kachadorian attended classes every day just like back home, they spent their time off from schoolwork to learn on a much larger scale through outdoor expeditions in the Patagonia mountains. “We did, in total, a month of backpacking and kayaking,” she says. 

Even though Kachadorian completed the spring semester thousands of miles away from ORHS, she shares that the transition — in terms of her classes and graduation requirements — was fairly simple. She took mostly semester-long electives in the fall and worked with Sean Peschel, the Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO) coordinator at ORHS to ensure that her full year classes could transfer to Alzar. “I did half the curriculum here, and then I filled out a form to see which part of the curriculum I still needed to learn, and when I was there, they made sure that all the students got what they needed to successfully finish out the year in that class, so it was pretty seamless,” she says. 

Her experience allowed her to continue her education in a way where she could also experience new things and connect to a culture widely different from her own. “It was a very eye-opening experience,” she says. “I’ve never lived or been out of New Hampshire for that long.” 

Kachadorian also shares that her time abroad has helped her become more adapted to new things in her own life. “[Before], I was very scared of change,” she says, “I didn’t like when my schedule changed at all and I think this was the first time that I really embraced it..[this experience] has definitely changed my idea of how I can take my adversity to change and succeed with it.”

Geneva Ruml  

Geneva Ruml (‘26) also spent the last semester away from ORHS, just a little closer to home. This spring, she attended the Maine Coast Semester (MCS) program in Chewaukee, Maine. “The academics were a big part of it, but the primary focus was on the surrounding environment – how it impacts our daily life, and how we impact it,” says Ruml.  

In addition to academic rigor and environmental impact, the program also focuses on community building. “There were only 26 of us in my semester,” Ruml says. “There were no phones at the program and everyone was really excited about that… everybody wanted to live well together and form a really strong community.” From living in cabins with their classmates to engaging in daily conversations and lessons, the students at MCS were able to form genuine connections with their peers, without the influence of the online world which is generally very prevalent in the lives of this generation. 

Ruml also shares how she thrived in an environment strongly built on a passion for learning and caring for people and the earth.  She says, “everybody there was very engaged and academically motivated because what we were learning was actually interesting and immediately applicable to the environment we were in.” 

Like Kachadorian, Ruml took mainly new classes during her semester away, but was still able to complete her year-long classes to fulfil her credit requirements. She shares how her time here not only gave her valuable life experiences but also helped prepare her for the heightened workload that comes with college, which she plans to attend after high school. “Academically, it was a lot more intense than it was here. The workload was a lot bigger, so time management was a big thing.”  

Ruml reflects on her last semester as a pivotal experience in her educational journey that she would recommend to other like-minded individuals. “It gave me more confidence in sharing my perspective and gave me better tools to do that and to understand the world in general. I feel generally better equipped in both life and academia,” she says.  

Zadi Hale  

While semester school programs are a great way for students to take their education into their own hands, they aren’t the only way ORHS students are exploring the world. Take Zadi Hale (‘28) who plans to spend this year’s spring semester in Kyoto, Japan, exploring a new culture with her family while taking her classes online.  

This opportunity arose from Hale’s father, a professor at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) who is completing his sabbatical across the globe along with his family. While she won’t be attending traditional school in Japan, Hale will be completing her required classes through The Virtual Learning Academy (VLACS) while exploring a new place and enjoying her time abroad, which she argues is learning in its purest form. 

“I feel like going places and experiencing things in real life is the best way to learn,” she says. “I can read as many books as I want on Japan, but that’s never going to give me the actual experience of being there.” 

While most of her online classes follow the traditional curriculum she would be completing at ORHS, she is going to be doing an independent study on Japanese history next semester in place of U.S. history which is typically a required class for sophomores. She hopes that this will help her become more immersed in the culture and that she’ll leave with a more extensive understanding of her experiences.  

Hale will also be putting her language skills to the test during her time abroad. “I’m learning a little bit of Japanese online right now, but I’m hoping that I’ll leave with at least a little bit of proficiency in that language.” She also highlights the communication skills required to survive in a foreign country. “I feel like the travel experience, being in a new country where you don’t speak the language and you can’t read the signs [builds] a lot of life skills,” she says.  

While she enjoys her time at ORHS, Hale shares her excitement to delve into an entirely new life for a semester and expresses her delight at the endless opportunities that travel can present. “My family, we’re not big planners, if we’re being honest, and we’re just going to figure it out as we go,” she says. “[I’m looking forward to] being totally surrounded by something that I’m unfamiliar with. Every day [I won’t] really know what’s happening and I think that’s kind of cool.”  

While these opportunities may seem out of reach at first, sometimes all it takes is one curious individual willing to take a bold leap into a unique learning experience. From learning about a program through outside sources or their own research, to conferring with their counselor and family, the process of completing a semester-worth of studies away from ORHS is simpler than many realize. To those considering a semester program or any non-traditional form of schooling Kachadorian says, “just take those risks and take those opportunities because it truly changed my life and it made my perspective on the world and like the town that we live in a lot different, and I think for the better.” 

-Jahrie Houle