February trip to Tremont the first step toward instituting a Smokies experience for all MC sophomores
Jan. 27, 2023
Second-year college students often face what’s known as the “sophomore slump,” a time when the novelty of first-year change wears off and the pressures of academia begin to weigh heavy.
Fortunately for Maryville College sophomores, Dr. Jay Clark believes, there’s a readily accessible therapeutic resource in the institution’s backyard: the Great Smoky Mountains. Thanks to a financial gift from Professor Emeritus Dr. Dean Boldon and his wife, Mary, a program in the planning stages called “Scots in the Smokies” will give MC sophomores a second-year experience designed to strengthen their connections to the College and the region.
“The sophomore year is considered by many to not be as eventful as other years, perhaps, and we wanted to create an experience for those students,” said Clark, the College’s director of environmental and sustainability initiatives. “The goal of the Boldons is to encourage students, while they’re here, to get out into the most ecologically diverse place in the temperate world, to develop an appreciation for the biodiversity and the history of Appalachia, and to do it in the crown jewel of the National Park System.
“We refer to ourselves as a college that’s ‘of and for the region,’ and not only do we have an obligation to be that, we need to make sure our students understand what that means.”
To develop the programming, 40 Maryville College students will be selected for a “Scots in the Smokies” test excursion to the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, one of the project’s partner organizations alongside Mountain Challenge. Students will spend the weekend of Feb. 24-26 at Tremont, engaging in hands-on learning through fieldwork in outdoor classrooms and more.
“Like many of our guests, college students often expect to come to the mountains to go hike and, in general, to ‘rough it,’” said Jeremy Lloyd, manager of field programs and collegiate studies at Tremont. “There will be some of that since Maryville College students will, in fact, be logging several ‘mountain miles’ during their stay. While doing so, they’ll be exploring forest ecology on an adventure to a waterfall and investigating the cultural history of Walker Valley on a hike that will take them off the official national park trail map.
“But the ‘interior landscape’ is something students will be exploring too, and Tremont’s setting inside the national park is ideal for that. Students will spend time in solitude each day, reflecting on their lives and future direction. Building a sense of community by forming bonds with others is another important aspect of the experience. This takes place during meals, after hours in sleeping quarters, around the campfire, and in group discussions, and we hope it’s something they carry back to campus at the end of their stay.
“Connecting with a special place like the Smokies goes hand in hand with connecting with people,” Lloyd added. “It also happens through the senses and the heart, not just the mind.”
Tremont will be one of several options available to Maryville College sophomores under the “Scots in the Smokies” umbrella beginning this fall, Clark added. The idea is to include a smorgasbord of experiences, from Civil War history hikes along the Cumberland Plateau with history professor Dr. Aaron Astor to caving with Mountain Challenge — the outdoor adventure program located on the MC campus — to exploration of early settlements in the Cades Cove area of the park and more.
“When we talk about wanting to be a college of and for the region, we want to expose these students to all that our region holds, from an ecological standpoint to an outdoor recreation standpoint to the history and the people of the area, including Native Americans,” Clark said. “Thanks to the Boldons, we’ll be able to do that, and in February, the students who go to Tremont will have an opportunity to give us feedback that will help determine the fall programming for what we hope will be a permanent part of the Maryville College experience for all second-year students.”