GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado - Like most young people going into college, Kara Gibson's not sure what job she'll end up in, but it will have something to do with the environment.

Gibson moved from Boulder to Glenwood when she was 5. She said she's always taken an interest in the environment and offers a simple explanation why: "I don't see how anyone could not be interested," she said.

She wonders if people who grow up to have no interest in the environment are just too distracted by other concerns. She doesn't have a car and plans to avoid getting one for as long as possible.

Gibson said she's worked and volunteered at a "somewhat paid internship" at the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute in Basalt for about three years. The institute is described as a training, counseling and research center that's on the cutting edge of organic farming. An advisor at Yampah Mountain High School recommended the place because of Gibson's affinity for environmental issues.

Gibson went directly from middle school into YMHS and graduated this year. Going into a traditional public high school "just seemed like a bad idea," she said.

She liked Yampah for its flexibility, small size and the support of the advisors who were genuinely interested in students, she added.

"I would highly recommend it to anyone," she said.

She was a little shy in an interview Friday and suggested others might be more interesting. But Prescott College in Arizona wasn't shy about announcing it offered Gibson scholarships worth $36,000 over four years, the school's maximum in scholarship awards.

"Kara's selection as a recipient of these scholarships is a reflection of the outstanding quality of her application for admission and our conviction that she is exactly the kind of student who will thrive at Prescott College," says a letter from the school's admissions office.

The liberal arts college offered Gibson a John Wesley Powell Scholarship for $4,000 a year, the school's Environmental and Social Justice Scholarship for $2,000 a year and the Dr. Charles Franklin Parker Scholarship for $3,000 a year.

"I was quite pleased because it makes it affordable," Gibson said. "More affordable, anyway."

She said she was automatically offered the scholarships based on her application. Gibson's second choices were Hampshire College in Massachusetts and Evergreen State College in Washington state. Prescott College seemed like a good fit that was similar to YMHS in some ways, including its small size, flexibility and independent study options, Gibson said. Liberal arts colleges also seemed best for someone unsure of exactly what they want to do.

Gibson said she plans to study "something in enviro-studies area." Perhaps ethnobotany or agroecology.

In her spare time she might be found playing the piano or recorder. She'd probably like to move back to the area, she said, in part because of the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute.

Contact Pete Fowler: 384-9121
pfowler@postindependent.com



Post Independent, Glenwood Springs Colorado CO