Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

February 15, 2007 issue

Mountain Alliance Accepting Applications for Rolling Academy

Application Deadline is Friday, February 16

Story by David Brewer

Local nonprofit organization Mountain Alliance is currently accepting applications for the group’s inaugural Rolling Academy. The Rolling Academy is designed as an advanced leadership academy using a bus as a classroom, base camp and vehicle for service and adventure challenges.

With preestablished base camps and service learning opportunities, the Rolling Academy will accept 10 current Watauga High School students from grades 9 to 11 and will last for 18 days beginning June 6.

Applications are available in the main office at Watauga High School, the Mountain Alliance office or online at www.rollingacademy.org. The deadline for applications is Friday, February 16.

According to Mountain Alliance Director Todd Nolt, the advisory board that will select the 10 students is looking for motivated participants with previous leadership experience.

A major initiative of the Mountain Alliance for 2007, the Rolling Academy has been a longstanding dream of the group. During 2006, 17 youth from Watauga County traveled to Bayou La Batre, Ala., to help to rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The weeklong adventure further solidified the dream of creating the Rolling Academy and substantiated the foundation and its principles.

Nolt hopes that the program will allow the participants to experience other parts of the country and other situations first-hand, broadening their horizons beyond Watauga County.

“Students that I’ve talked to have been very excited,” said Nolt. “We’re excited because it fits in with Mountain Alliance’s mission of challenging participants through personal growth, perspective and opportunity.”

Nolt said that the program is still in development, but will definitely include covering lots of ground by bus while retaining its focus on developing leadership. Tentative plans for the academy include hiking, volunteering at a soup kitchen, meeting with youth and adult leaders in other communities and much more.

To ensure that the Rolling Academy gets rolling this summer, Mountain Alliance is seeking financial support in the form of three-year commitments from local individuals, businesses and organizations.

“We wish that somebody would step up and say, ‘Hey, this is important for the community and the future of Watauga County,’” said Nolt.

Supporters will be noted in Rolling Academy publicity, in brochures and on the website and will be invited to attend the Academy send-off and wrap-up events.

For more info, click to www.rollingacademy.org or call 828-263-0383.