"New Off-Campus Program Offers 'Life-Changing Lessons' " from The Exeter Bulletin, Winter 2008

Meeta Prakash '09 learns to use a sextant. Photo courtesy of the Island School.

During the fall term, John Azubuike ’09 and Meeta Prakash ’09 charted a new course in unfamiliar waters. They were the first Exeter students to attend a 14-week off-campus program at the Island School, a one-of-a-kind outdoor environmental school for 10th and 11th graders on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera.

The Island School’s academic program includes instruction in tropical marine ecology, regional history, the literature of the sea, environmental art, physical education and community service, each with an emphasis on the living environment. In their math course, for example, Azubuike and Prakash studied celestial navigation, learning how to determine a person’s position on earth from the location of stars in the sky. In their science course, they studied ethnobotany, exploring how Eleutherans use indigenous plants for such things as food, shelter, medicine, clothing and religious ceremonies; and aquaponics, the symbiotic cultivation of plants and aquatic animals in a recirculating environment.

As part of the Island School’s challenging physical education program, Azubuike trained for and completed a half-marathon, while Prakash took part in a four-mile ocean swim. After receiving SCUBA training, they participated in several night dives, as well as an eight-day sea kayak expedition.

Both say they experienced life-changing lessons about the earth, its resources and the proper relationship humans should have with it. Their strongest memories, they add, are of the challenges they put before themselves, and the insights they gained into themselves and their classmates.“ One of the most important lessons the Island School gave me was the ability to communicate and work with others,” says Azubuike. “Your own skills can get you far in morning exercise, math class or campus cleanup, but empathizing with others and sharing motivation takes the ‘hard’ out of hard work.”

His sea kayak expedition taught him a lot about his own internal strength; it was also, he adds, pure enjoyment. The physical demands of kayaking were hard, and setting up camp and preparing meals could be frantic. But during a 48-hour solo portion of the trip, he experienced a sense of freedom and meditation, as he connected with the island, its plants and the fire-lit clouds. “I felt true relaxation for the first time in a long time,” he says.

During her eight-day kayak journey, Prakash bonded with teammates, made difficult group decisions as a leader and learned how to survive for close to two days without speaking. “I really connected with the land and the sea,” she says, “and it helped me realize how much I want and need to protect the earth.”

Now that she’s back at Exeter, Prakash says she no longer takes modern conveniences like hot showers and full-flush toilets for granted. Thanks to the Island School, she also understands their impact on the environment.

“This experience will live in my mind for years to come,” she says.

Read the story in its original format in The Exeter Bulletin, Winter 2008...

Check out the full issue of The Exeter Bulletin, Winter 2008...

Learn about Exeter's other off-campus study options, including Milton Mountain School Program, Washington Intern Program, school year abroad programs...