Salute to the Class of 2012: Shorewood's Laura Humes

Shorewood senior Laura Humes is part of the Class of 2012 which will walk at commencement on Sunday, June 17 at Comcast Arena.

She answered the following questions from Patch reflecting on her high school experience and future.

Her parents are Todd and Lisa Humes, and her sister Olivia, is a sophomore at Shorewood.

What prompted you to get involved with the Student Conservation Association, which builds trails in National Parks? In my freshman year of high school, my science teacher, Ms. Fawcett, told me about an opportunity to get involved with a program called Parks Climate Challenge, where high school students from around the country get to spend the summer in North Cascades National Park learning firsthand about climate change. I was one of 20 students from across the nation that participated in Parks Climate Challenge its first year. As part of the program, I also traveled to Washington D.C. and met with environmental policymakers from the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and NASA. When I returned from Washington D.C., I worked with a group of fellow students to design a service project. We taught a series of climate change lessons to fifth grade students at Echo Lake Elementary and then brought all 80 students to Carkeek Park for an outdoor field trip. The following summer, I decided to join the Student Conservation Association to follow up the experience I had at Parks Climate Challenge. I heard about SCA from my mentors at Parks Climate Challenge.

Where has that work taken you? In the summer of 2010 I was part of an SCA trail crew in Mt. Rainier National Park. I spent two weeks with five other high school students maintaining a backcountry trail on the West side of the mountain. Last summer I spent 30 days in North Cascades National Park building 1,000 feet of brand-new trail with five other high school students. Participating in SCA trail crews gave me the skills to live outside in the woods for an extended period of time without the comforts of urban society like running water, microwaves, or showers. My favorite part about living in the backcountry is that everything is up to you and your team--you are responsible for making sure you have clean water, food, and a tent to sleep under. I learned a lot about myself by putting myself in challenging situations and stepping outside my comfort zone, as well as made a positive impact on the world around me. Overall, I feel that my participation with SCA has helped me make the National Parks more accessible to people so that more people can enjoy America's beautiful wild spaces and learn to care about them.

What were your favorite classes at Shorewood? It's hard to pick a particular favorite class! One of the most influential classes for me was honors biology, which I took my sophomore year with Paul Witt. Initially I was a bit intimidated by the rigorous nature of the class, but I really appreciate the way Mr. Witt forced us to reevaluate the world around us and our place in it. The class changed my perspective and inspired me to look at things deeper than just surface level. I highly encourage future sophomores to sign up for the class!

What did you enjoy most about Shorewood? What I enjoyed most about Shorewood was the fact that learning extended beyond the classroom. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved in an area you are passionate about if you look hard enough. We are lucky to live in a community that supports students following their passions and creates opportunities for students to explore many different pathways.

Why did you decide to pick Macalester College in Minnesota? When I first heard about Macalester, I was hooked by their unique educational atmosphere. I'm really excited about getting the comprehensive, multicultural, liberal arts education that Macalester offers. I'm looking forward to living in a new city and experiencing the ridiculously cold Minnesota winters!

Any future plans for a career or are you try a few things out? At Macalester I'm planning on majoring in environmental studies with a concentration in media and cultural studies. This year, I was news editor for the Shorewood student newspaper, the Kolus and I discovered a new interest in media. I'm really interested in journalism and graphic design, and I want to combine my media skills with my passion for the environment. At this point, I'm considering a career as an environmental activist or outreach coordinator with the goal of making more people aware about environmental issues and motivating communities to work together to improve the environmental both locally and globally.