Throughout the spring, we will be catching up with Kenmore West graduates who were a part of the first ever International Baccalaureate program at Ken-Ton. Check out our latest alumni update below.
Name: Rebecca Gourlay
Graduation Accomplishments: Rebecca graduated from Kenmore West in 2013 with an IB Diploma and was President of the National Honor Society. She also competed in varsity volleyball and track.
On joining the IB Program, Rebecca said, “The IB Program challenged us to balance our academic work with extracurriculars like CAS and projects like the Extended Essay. This helped me develop skills in time management and tools for completing independent work successfully. This was the first academic program I was involved in that emphasized creativity and pursuing topics of personal interest.”
Rebecca says she primarily remembers two things from her time spent in IB: the end of her Visual Arts course where each student in her class had the chance to share their work on display at the school’s library, and her CAS project, which allowed her to build relationships at the community level. Her CAS Project, especially, helped transition her to the real-world where she serves her community every day.
On what the IB program taught her, Rebecca said, “It helped me understand the connections between our course material and communities across the world. The program gave me perspective on how interconnected our world is and how life-long learning, creativity and service are essential for a more robust society.”
College Life: Rebecca went on to study at Boston College and graduated in 2017 Cum Laude with a degree in Environmental Studies with a focus in Food + Water Sustainability. She also received a minor in International Relations.
Post-College Journey: Following graduation, Rebecca spent two years serving as an Agroforestry Volunteer with the Peace Corps in Guinea, West Africa, where she lived, worked, and learned alongside small-scale producers. She also partnered with local counterparts and a community collective to design and implement a series of grant-funded monthly trainings for farmers. Following her two years of service, she returned to the U.S. and apprenticed on a 6.5 acre diversified vegetable farm in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where she learned the ins and outs of organic vegetable production.
Where is she now? Following her apprenticeship in Massachusetts, Rebecca moved out to Silt, Colorado and became a Farm Manager at Highwater Farm. It’s a diversified vegetable farm that protects the environment and yields nutrient-dense food for those in the Garfield County community. The farm gives back quite a bit, routing 15% of their produce to food pantries and hunger relief efforts in the area, and empowers the next generation of farmers and leaders with a summer youth job training program.
In her current role, Rebecca primarily oversees all areas of field production and ensures that the farm is operating efficiently. Her daily tasks include: crop planning and record keeping; seeding and greenhouse management; cultivation and bed prep; transplanting; irrigation; weed and pest management; and harvesting, washing, and marketing crops.
When speaking about her current position, Rebecca said, “The most rewarding aspect of my job is teaching young people how to grow food and support their community. We need more farmers in the world and a more robust local food system. Farming is the role I see myself contributing to.”
Rebecca is one of the many former IB graduates who plan to attend this summer’s 10-year reunion of the first ever graduating class and is excited to connect with former classmates and see what they’ve accomplished over the last decade.
Past Alumni Features:
