By Kathy Onorato
Maeve Carlson (third from right) enjoyed the relationships she made during the semester she spent at Chewonki. Her cabin buddies included, from left, Ginny Renjilian, Georgia; Marqaux Miller, Illinois; Megan Cooke, Arizona; Atty Cleworth, Washington; Carlson; Naila Perez-Stringari, New York; and Claire Benning, Massachusetts. (Photo courtesy Maeve Carlson) |
Wiscasset High School student Maeve Carlson said through her experience at Chewonki’s Semester School this past spring she has created friendships that will last a lifetime and refers to the time she spent there as the best four months of her life.
Carlson, the daughter of Shawn and Molly Carlson, of Wiscasset, said she was determined to attend a semester school somewhere for the opportunity to meet new people and challenge herself academically.
She said a school in New York was her first choice, however she was put a waiting list there and, having been accepted at Chewonki, she took the offer closer to home.
As the winner of the 2013 Sara Leone Scholarship, given in memory of Sara Leone, a former Wiscasset High School student who lost her life in an automobile accident, Carlson attended a three-week sea kayaking adventure at Chewonki.
“I got really excited about going back,” Carlson said.
Carlson attended Chewonki’s Semester School from Jan. 29 through May 25 and attended honors classes in French, American history, ethics, trigonometry and precalculus, and science.
“There is a big focus on science,” Carlson said.
Carlson said it took her longer than she expected to make friends. She said she bonded with those in her cabin first, but by spring break she knew everyone and had established lifelong friendships.
Of the 41 students attending the semester school with Carlson, 25 were from New England and only five from Maine. Carlson said it was amazing to have so many people her age around her all the time who share the same focus.
“It was easy to be happy,” she said.
She said she and other students engaged in awkward conversations and played pranks on each other, but were always there for one another.
“We became part of the ‘Chewonki bubble,'” Carlson said. “You are in a different universe.”
The experience allowed her to do things she had never done before, like hum to periwinkles and start every Saturday with a jump into the icy river.
“Sometimes we had to punch through the ice to jump in,” Carlson said.
Being so close to home, Carlson did have the benefit of seeing her family on a few occasions, unlike most of the students that attended. She did have to give up playing tennis for Wiscasset High School this past spring and missed playing spring soccer.
“I am kind of sad about missing soccer,” Carlson said. “You are going to miss stuff from home and that is part of it.”
The Chewonki experience pushes students out of their comfort zone, Carlson said. The school introduced her to new people and new ideas and challenged her in many areas of her life.
“Not a day goes by when I don’t see something that reminds me of my semester at Chewonki. Sometimes it makes me sad to realize it’s over, but most of the time it makes me smile to myself because it reminds me how lucky I’ve been to have had this incredible experience,” Carlson said.
One of the more challenging experiences was a four-day camping trip at Little Holbrook Pond in February when temperatures were well below zero, she said.
She said her shelter consisted of a canvas tent with no floor. Stoves heated the tents during the day but had to be shut off at night for safety reasons.
“We would wake up with frost around our mouths and eyelashes,” Carlson said.
Toward the end of the semester, students are required to do a two-night solo experience in the woods to reflect on the first three months of the semester.
Although Carlson admits she slept 14 hours of the first day, she said she did do some soul searching. She became more determined to take full advantage of the remainder of semester.
When it was time to say goodbye to all her friends, Carlson said she never cried so hard.
“It’s never really over either. Not when I have 41 of my closest friends to reminisce and reconnect with for the rest of my life,” she said. “It was the best four months of my life.”
