Last Updated: Monday, May 7, 2007 2:12 PM CDT
PrepPerspective
by Ashley Kennedy - Lakeland High School
A lasting impact
Editor's note: Until the middle of June, The Daily News will run a column written by three high school student-athletes from Rhinelander, Lakeland and Northland Pines. The student-athletes were asked to share their thoughts on anything from sports to what's going on at their high school. This week's column is written by Lakeland senior Ashley Kennedy, who is a member of the T-Birds track and field team.
Out of all the classes I have taken in my four years, I owe the most gratitude to one class. One class made the biggest impact on my life and prepared me the most for my future. The class is called Journey, and it is not a required class, in fact the class is unique in that it is only provided through Lakeland Union High School.
Journey encompasses a plethora of different core lessons, from the external challenges of the climbing wall to the internal development of the individual -- no character is left uninspired.
Journey takes two outdoor climbing trips a year where the students put their experience in the classroom to the test against the challenges of real rock and some major height.
Another activity I have had the honor of participating in through Journey, was an HIV and AIDS awareness project. The Journey class created an awareness DVD that, thanks to the Great Lakes Tribal Association's funding, is now being distributed throughout Wisconsin.
The moment I stepped in the Journey room and stared up at the climbing walls, I knew that the class was going to have a different impact on me.
Through Journey I have grown in my confidence, endurance and faith in many ways that words cannot express. I started out a timid freshman with an attitude and willingness to learn. And with a teacher who desired to develop lessons that cannot come from a textbook, but only from the heart -- I am not surprised how much I have learned.
As a first semester senior, I had the privilege of being a teacher assistant for the freshmen in Journey, and I learned that there is nothing more rewarding them being given the opportunity to pass a lesson of the heart on to another student.
Journey has not only been a growing experience, but also an amazing college preparation class because it encompasses a variety of different courses that one is bound to use in a lifetime. Philosophy, social work, recreation, guidance, leadership, speech and writing -- not one of these hasn't been used or taught in some aspect in the Journey class.
Above all, I need to thank Kim Wasserburger, the core instructor and creator of Journey, for his continued passion in teaching and his dedication when times were hard.
I also am very grateful for Craig Kerr, my Journey teacher as a freshman, who always somehow knew just when to push me and give me courage in all my aspirations.
Journey has impacted me in an unspeakable amount of ways and it is my hope that everyone has the opportunity to be inspired, at least once in a lifetime, as much as I have through the class.
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