Several weeks ago during an Alumni Council meeting, I was asked whether or not we had any Experiential Education – Ex Ed – during my time at the Academy.

The formal Ex Ed program was established in Bear Canyon after we graduated, But I tried to explain that the campus at the time was so far out of town that just getting to school after a snowstorm or driving home after a major thunderstorm could be quite a wilderness experience. A short hike off campus in any direction was a lesson in desert plants and wildlife! Some of us even biked up into the Sandia foothills to explore.

That question also prompted me to dig out these photos I took in the spring of our final school year at the Academy. After lunch one day, several students were going to launch a record-setting tall rocket just east of the science building.

Quite a crowd gathered to witness the shot. After the countdown led by Pete Barney, the rocket failed to launch. Mr. Kleyboecker carefully approached the rocket and started to fiddle with the wiring leading to the base, and suddenly the engines ignited and the rocket started to rise. Kleyboecker was startled and launched himself to safety as the rocket shot skyward!

The photos of Mr. Kleyboecker airborne and the students running into the open desert to retrieve the rocket confirm that this was an Ex Ed experience!

Which gets me to the point of this note: Ex Ed is a required part of the education experienced today by Academy students and reinforces what I see every time I’m on campus. Today’s students, whether interested in science and engineering or math or computer programming or medicine or history or theater or creative writing are getting a rich and valuable education in their formative years.

The Bear Canyon Project. The Bear Canyon Program. Experiential Education. Ex Ed. However you know it, the outdoor education program has been a required part of the Academy educational experience for 50 years.

Over the years, the program has evolved in ways large and small. Before I started in 1986, it included a week-long Outward Bound Adaptive Program element for 7th and 8th graders. This model shrunk the 30-day OB program to a week and included a 24-hour solo experience. (It also included lots of opportunities for sneaking in “contraband”—snacks and food we didn’t want you to bring!) Over the years, I have had the opportunity to cave, mountain bike, road bike, cross-country ski, snowshoe, snow camp, hike, backpack, bird, explore ruins, build bridges and other trail projects, summit peaks, hike in the dead of night, hike from Jemez to Cochiti pueblos, and cook great meals (and other meals, too) with hundreds of Academy students.

The activities of the outdoor program have varied for a lot of reasons over the years, including staff changes in the program and changes in the larger school schedule that in turn impacted the Ex Ed program. While today’s program may look very different from the program you participated in back in the 1980s or the 2010s, the program has had a steady, solid core of goals, expectations, hopes, and dreams for our students. These have included, in no particular order, getting a break from the pressure cooker that Academy academics can be, fostering an appreciation for the natural world, offering leadership training and leadership opportunities, allowing students to get to know themselves and their peers beyond their academic performance, and learning new lifelong activities and skills, to name a few.

As the science department reflects proudly on alumni who make good as doctors or researchers and the English department is rightly proud of fostering our many published authors, Ex Ed likewise has fostered young outdoorsfolk who go on to work as outdoor educators and outdoor leaders. The most important of those successes is, of course, my own daughter Ruby ’15, who now traipses around the country helping to initiate young people into their own rewarding relationships with the outdoors.

I am not naive enough to think that everyone who makes it through the Ex Ed curriculum becomes an outdoor enthusiast or a card-carrying Sierra Club member, let alone an outdoor professional. I know there are those amongst you who, upon completing your 9th- or 10th-grade trip, have rejoiced that you will never have to sleep on the ground again or go a day without a shower. But, likewise, there are those of you who will take a hike this afternoon in your local open space, or who think a week-long backpacking trip is the perfect vacation. More importantly, there are many amongst you who will pass your own love and appreciation for the outdoors on to your own children. In my last year of teaching, I had a 7th grader who told me all about his family’s backpacking adventures. I saw pictures of him on a tall peak in the Pecos Wilderness. What I did not know, and only learned on Parents’ Night, was that in one of my first years at the Academy, I had taken his mom on her first backpacking trip!

I have so many great memories of working with you all, both in the classroom and especially in the field. One sticks in my mind because it summarizes why I love working in the outdoors. It was my first year at the Academy, and we were caving with 10th graders in the Carlsbad area. Our last adventure of the day was a small gypsum cave that, as it turned out, had a different entrance and exit. I was pulling up the rear as we made our way through the cave, which at the start was tall enough to stand in. The cave was formed by running water, and we could see ripple marks on the sides of the cave. As we progressed, the cave became narrower and shorter, necessitating that we stoop, then crawl, then slither, pushing our daypacks ahead of us, grunting and sweating as we went. As we neared the end, but still beyond the reach of sunlight, I maneuvered around a corner only to be face to face with a pair of red eyes shining in the light of my headlamp. I can’t remember whether I yelled or not, and I don’t recall the jolt of adrenaline that must have coursed through me, but what I do recall is that when I emerged blessedly back into the light of day, sweat streaming down my face, my co-leader, Cathy Campbell, greeted me saying, “It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure!” Indeed it was an adventure, and I think fondly and gratefully on all of you who helped make it so. I hope that you are all having your own adventures spawned by this great Academy program, whatever name you know it by.

Sarah Councell (she/her) 

I have taught in the Experiential Education department at Albuquerque Academy since 2007. I teach rock climbing, canyoneering, bikepacking, mountain biking, and backpacking, and occasionally I hit the river in my packraft. I’ve been the Ex Ed department chair for about five years.

I grew up exploring the creeks and waterways of the Chesapeake Bay and learned how to ski when I was a teenager. But it was a summer in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that made it clear that I needed to be in or close to big mountains, preferably out west. I did my first backpacking trip that summer in Wyoming, rock climbing and kayaking for the first time, and it changed my life. I had to bide my time and finish up at college before moving out to Eugene, Oregon, where some friends from college had relocated. I also spent a semester in Kenya during college on an experiential learning program, and I saw how effective the experiential education pedagogy is. I graduated from Boston College in 1996 with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Women’s Studies.

Before coming to New Mexico, I received my master’s in education from St. Lawrence University (SLU) in 2006, where I was also the associate director of the Outdoor Program and coordinator of the climbing and mountaineering programs. At SLU, I taught rock and ice climbing and a student-guide training program in the Adirondacks. During school breaks, I led rock climbing trips to Smith Rock, Oregon; the New River Gorge, Kentucky; and El Potrero Chico, Mexico; and mountaineering trips to Mexico and Ecuador. I obtained training in avalanche safety in Wyoming’s Teton Range while at SLU. Summers off from SLU allowed me to alpine climb all summer in Colorado, Wyoming, and California, and it was an amazing time. 

Before my time at SLU, I spent several years as a field instructor for NOLS, where I taught backpacking, rock climbing, and mountaineering in Wyoming and Arizona and proctored a semester in Baja, Mexico. Highlights from NOLS included traveling the peaks and glaciers in the Cordillera Real on a Bolivia mountaineering seminar alongside peers. Preceding NOLS, I was trained as a wilderness first responder. During my time with NOLS, I also worked as a senior field staff at the Second Nature wilderness therapy program. 

My most extreme personal trips were during my time at Albuquerque Academy: riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route and piecing together the North Cascades High Route. In 2016, my partner Dan and I left Bear Canyon on our mountain bikes with bikepacking setups and rode our bikes to Canmore, Canada. This adventure took us about two months and remains a life highlight. We camped the majority of the time and enjoyed long days in the saddle, exploring nooks and crannies of the Rocky Mountain States and Canada. Dan and I have also done three trips on the North Cascades High Route, a mountaineering traverse in Washington’s North Cascade National Park. The most extreme section of this was the Isolation Traverse, traversing the peaks from El Diablo Peak and ending at Diablo Lake. After leaving the popular El Diablo Peak climb, we saw no trace of humans, trails, or even footprints for the next eight days. It was an amazing time in the deep wilderness with long days, steep mountain passes, largely crevassed glaciers, tricky route finding, and inconsistent weather. The biggest lessons learned come from hard trips like these—finding out how deep we can dig and how much joy one can find in the natural world and its simplicity: watching the sunrise with a hot drink, sitting down to some beans and rice after an impossibly long day, sneaking into the tent to avoid a thunderstorm or a camp rife with mosquitos, finding the perfect camp when five minutes ago it seemed like no good camp was to be found.

My favorite memories with students are from 9th-grade trips. I love the moment when students find comfort and independence in the wilderness and really start enjoying themselves. A spring trip in the Gila comes to mind, traveling north from the Trail End Ranch. Water was a bit tricky, and the route was new to the program, but students were into the adventure and truly enjoyed the freedom and responsibility of being in the wilderness. We had some long travel days and relaxing time in camp. I also love the 9th-grade bikepacking trip. 

The power of outdoor education is finding out how much one can do in the wilderness: stripping things away to the basics seems to bring out people’s creativity, humor, and self-reliance. The wilderness feels like the real world—where nature’s seasonal and daily cycles prevail. Being able to reconnect with the natural world, regain our place within these cycles, and connect with peers while doing that is the magic of Ex Ed. It’s amazing what students find out they are capable of. 

Mike Hanselmann (he/him)

Mike has worked in the Academy’s Ex Ed department from 2004 to the present. He leads everything from day hikes to multi-day backpacking, bikepacking, whitewater kayaking, and mountain biking trips. He has been teaching whitewater kayaking and canoeing for the past 40ish years. He was the owner-operator of WOLF Whitewater, a whitewater kayak school that has been in operation in New Mexico since the mid-’70s, from 1997 through 2011. Mike worked for WOLF as an assistant instructor, head instructor, canoe instructor, and raft guide for 17 years before taking over ownership in 1997. Mike and a few other Ex Ed faculty built a bike park on campus during the pandemic in 2020-21. The school now has bike park sessions multiple times a week either before or after school, as well as summer session classes. He is first aid certified to the level of wilderness first responder. Mike is a graduate of the Colorado Outward Bound School (COBS) Wilderness Leadership Program. He has a B.S. in Psychology from the University of New Mexico. His hobbies include kayaking, rafting, climbing, mountain biking, backpacking, and alpine and backcountry skiing.

Favorite memories from school trips: Getting up early on a cold trip, before the students are up, finding a hillside facing the sun, and making coffee. Sitting in the first sun, drinking coffee in the middle of nowhere, watching the group slowly come to life. And watching students “get it.” Whether that’s figuring out how to be comfortable in the wilderness, a tricky move on a mountain bike, hitting the jumps on the pump track, rolling a kayak, or successfully navigating a rapid with grace and finesse. 

Favorite outdoor snack: cheese, crackers, and salami

Favorite campsites in NM: The rim above the Rio Grande in Taos, now closed to camping, but I have a lot of fond memories from camping there while I was teaching kayaking or running raft trips back in the day. Anywhere in the Gila.

The first trip I worked for the Academy, as a contractor, about 25 years ago, was kind of extreme. It was a 10th-grade canoeing trip to Lake Powell. We were supposed to be in for five days exploring this little finger of the lake. This particular section of lake was super narrow, starting out going directly south and then switching around to go directly north for a few miles before turning west and opening up into a larger part of the lake. Our first day paddling in was great, we got to the farthest southern point. The next day the winds picked up, coming from the south. It was so strong, and the forecast calling for more wind and potentially snow, we were worried about going any further north for fear we wouldn’t be able to get back. We decided to try a short jaunt to the north to see how hard getting back would be with a bunch of beginner canoeists in the howling wind. It was a no-go, we barely made it back. Given the forecast, the next day we decided to head back out before it got worse. I was running sweep on the way out with a 10th grader in the front of my canoe. It was so windy that some of the kids were having trouble keeping their boats straight even going straight downwind. One boat in particular just couldn’t seem to go anywhere. I pulled up alongside them, we hooked the canoes together by swinging our legs across the gunwales. The two girls in the front took out a camping pad and held it up like a sail and I ruddered in the back. We were flying off of that lake. When we got back to the put in, we discovered that the vehicles had been broken into, a couple windows smashed, and various things stolen. Luckily we hadn’t left much in them so it wasn’t too big a loss. We had to clean the canoes and load them on the trailer, which we did, getting sandblasted by the wind all the while. We camped that night in a nearby campground and sure enough, it snowed that night. We were pretty happy to be off the water. The next day we hiked around the White Canyon area and then camped again in the same place. It was still so windy on the drive home that the canoe trailer was getting blown sideways out from behind the vehicle. We were so worried about it flipping that we tied two full 7-gallon water jugs to the upwind side of it to weigh it down a little more. It was not the heavy steel trailer we have now; it was a really lightweight aluminum thing. Luckily it had rained and the road was still wet, so the trailer could slide a little, otherwise, I think we might have flipped it. All in all an epic trip. 

Mike Shaw (he/him)

Mike had his love of the wilderness instilled in him early, spending most of his childhood summers camping and canoeing with his family in the upper Midwest. By the time he had reached the 7th grade, he was camping on his own with his younger brother and shortly after that, he joined the Scouts, where was introduced to backpacking, rock climbing, and caving. When it came time to head off to college, he was lucky enough to find a school with an outdoor education major and has been working in the field ever since. 

At the age of 19, Mike began his career as an outdoor professional leading seven-day canoeing trips in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. By the age of 20, he was leading orientation trips for Northland College and solo instructing multi-week trips into remote sections of the Canadian wilderness and on Isle Royal. 

While finishing up his degree in adventure education, Mike worked as an adjunct instructor in the outdoor education department at Northland College and spent summers leading two- to four-week backpacking and canoeing trips in Canada and the U.S. During that time, he also worked as a dog sledding guide, winter camping instructor, kayaking instructor, white-water rescue instructor, and ski patroller.

In the spring of 1997 Mike took a NOLS instructors’ course and began trip leading for them that summer. Over the next 14 years, Mike would go on to work as a course leader on college-accredited, 35-day NOLS expeditions across the western U.S., some years spending up to 40 weeks a year at work in the field. He worked course types including mountaineering, rock climbing, caving, backpacking, adventure, instructor course climbing camps, caving instructor training seminars, and alumni fly-fishing trips. 

During time off from work at the end of the year in 1997, Mike was lucky enough to join a 20-day winter kayaking trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. After the trip, he moved to Bozeman, Montana, where he spent the next five months working as a field instructor in wilderness therapy before starting full-time fieldwork for NOLS in the summer of 1998.

In the fall of 2003, after another brief stint working in wilderness therapy, Mike joined the faculty in the Experiential Education department at Albuquerque Academy where he still teaches today. In his time at the Academy, Mike started the Ex Ed Senior Seminar program, which takes students out for a three- to four-week trip in the Four Corners region doing activities such as technical canyoneering, rock climbing, and white-water rafting. He also expanded the scope of the climbing program, helped create the survival curriculum, and helped expand the course areas for our 9th-grade program. He has been a part of the expansion of Ex Ed class offerings, created the current field assessment guidelines for our technical trips, helped set up a partnership between NOLS and the Academy to provide credit to high school-aged NOLS students, and coached the wrestling team for five years.

In 2006, Mike took an instructor training course for NOLS Wilderness Medicine. He continues to teach certification courses in Wilderness First Aid to communities across the U.S. and to Academy students. 

In 2012, Mike was invited to join the instructor team at the Khumbu Climbing Center (KCC) in Phortse, Nepal. While working for the KCC, Mike spent five weeks living and teaching in the Nepali Himalayas. He worked alongside and taught local Nepali high-altitude workers skills such as ice climbing, wilderness first aid, rope rescue, leadership, and communication.

In the summer of 2023 Mike’s love of photography landed him a position teaching the subject for National Geographic Student Travel in Namibia. While working for Nat Geo, Mike co-led a group of 20 students traveling with them from the U.S. to Windhoek in Namibia. Once there, the group toured the country for three weeks learning about its natural history, cultural history, and wildlife.

During his 31+ years (and counting) as an outdoor educator, Mike has worked on three continents, in four countries, and spent over 500 weeks in the field leading students in remote areas. 

Taylor Chestnut (she/her)

Year started at the Academy: 2023

Relevant training, education, and certifications: WFR, NOLS Backpacking Instructor, Avalanche Rec 1

Most extreme trip: 12-day winter backpacking and skiing trip in Grand Teton National Park. We built quigloos for sleeping and temperatures got down to -26F. I also led 30-day backpacking trips in the Wind River Range of Wyoming over the summer.

Favorite memory with students: Epic Mafia and Hide and Seek games with 7th Graders in Bear Canyon

The value/ power of outdoor education: As the world becomes more reliant on screens, multi-tasking, and setting yourself up for the future, the outdoors forces you to slow down and be in the moment. I love the sense of calm and achievement I get from a backpacking trip or good hike. You must work for all of your basic human needs and that takes more effort than doing those tasks in the front country, but all the other noise, both literal and metaphorical, goes away. I have deeper thoughts and conversations when I’m outdoors than at any other time. I love our program at the Academy because it gives students a moment to push themselves physically, quiet the noise of the world, and spend time with their peers in a once-in-a-lifetime way.

Favorite NM camping spot: I’m new to the state and already it’s difficult to choose! But I’ll say Gila Wilderness and San Pedro Parks.

Favorite camping snack: Triscuits and cheese

Biggest lesson learned: You don’t need to make a final plan for the next day the night before. Discuss options and sleep on it. See what the weather and mood around camp is in the morning, and go from there!

Tyler Glidden (he/him)

Year started at the Academy: 2024 as Ex Ed teaching fellow

Relevant training, education, and certifications: Wilderness First Responder, M.Ed.

Most extreme trip: Gila Wilderness in March snows

Favorite memory with students: telling funny ghost stories around a campfire at Bear Canyon’s Little Meadow camp

The value/power of outdoor education: Being uncomfortable and exposed to the elements allows students a different perspective on what is truly important to them. Their appreciation for life and their surroundings seems to shift after an adventure.

Favorite NM camping spot: Rio de Las Vacas

Favorite camping snack: dried mangoes

Biggest lesson learned: Always have a Plan C (and D)!

I started at the Academy for Boys as a fairly shy and introverted eighth grader when the school first opened. I had previously gone to a Catholic elementary school and then Jefferson Middle School. Being in such a large school was hard, and my mother, being a teacher, was very much in favor of education. She sought out a better situation for me.

My mom was a single mother of two boys (our father was killed in WWII when I was a toddler). She relocated us to Albuquerque after I was diagnosed with rheumatic fever and was told I needed a warmer climate. Since no one would rent to a single mom with no job, she obtained a small house trailer and moved us from Michigan to Albuquerque. I thought my mom was a pioneer at doing things that were tough. As parents, you don’t always have a choice.

At the Academy, I was a lot more at ease. It was small, and students got personal attention from teachers who had time to be interested in you and not just what you were supposed to know. As I reflect on my time at the school, I think I got more from the interest in learning than the learning itself. It was a school that not only taught us the basics but also inspired us to be inquisitive and to search for knowledge. The faculty also encouraged us to take responsibility and be leaders. The motto scientia ad faciendum (knowledge for the sake of doing) was repeated and emphasized.

Originally classes were held at St. Michaels and All Angels Church near what is now 4th and Montaño. We only had a ditch we got to play on. A few years later we moved to the new campus on Osuna (which is now Sandia Prep’s campus). We had small classes; mine only had five boys. We weren’t a powerhouse in sports, but we did get to practice football after one boy figured out a way to borrow a tractor to clear out a dirt field. Each of us had to play both directions, and there were no subs running in after each play. Once, we challenged Washington Junior High in baseball and got beat so badly they called the game at 13-0 out of compassion. One spring I remember being relieved when they let me stay in the school after I accidentally hit Headmaster Wilburn in the head with a baseball and knocked him out. We also had a basketball court at the new campus, and Ms. Miller would teach us saber and foil (as well as French). When we played sports it was like, “Okay, let’s get the whole school out there and don’t hurt the little guys.”

I also remember extraordinary learning challenges that stretched our knowledge and abilities. The teachers expected a lot out of you and pushed us to get out of our comfort zones to try new things and learn new things. In biology, we performed a thyroidectomy on a rabbit. In the Rocket Club, we designed rockets (some five feet long), machined nozzles out of aluminum, mixed zinc and sulfur to make the fuel, and secured FAA permission to fly them in the Los Lunas area, because our calculations said that some of them could fly nearly a mile high. Mr. Charles made chemistry fun and exciting and that is probably what turned me on to chemistry, what I ended up doing as a profession. I studied at UNM and the chair of the chemistry department recommended me for a position leading the state health lab chemistry section where I spent my entire career.

When I think back on my time at the Academy, it was fun and I got to be a normal teenager. I just went to school. I was never really involved in the finances of the thing. I never had to consider working a job. My mother did all the worrying about finances. She didn’t make much as a teacher at Los Ranchos Elementary School, and I didn’t learn until after I graduated that I was given financial support from the Academy, which allowed me to stay enrolled. I guess I knew there was a tuition, but at the time it didn’t register. My guess is that I am one of the earliest recipients of the Academy’s generosity. I suspect that another family made up the difference. Again, I just got to be a teenager. The school back then was very small. Everybody knew everybody, and everyone got along for the most part. It was more family than community.

When I think about the Academy today, I recognize that a lot has changed. It’s bigger. Girls can be students. But I think some things haven’t changed too much. I suspect the quality of education hasn’t changed, and the encouragement to do your best and learn new things hasn’t changed. Opportunities are certainly much better than they were back then. But the confidence the students develop here, the fact that they are still encouraged to do new things and take responsibility will continue to serve the students well as they go to college and throughout their lives. And the last thought of things I gained at the Academy is the idea of being of service to others. I was a scout leader for 50 years and tie that back to my days at the school. I think that same sense of the importance of service hasn’t changed at the Academy today either.

When our twins applied to Albuquerque Academy for 6th grade, they were these little children with such needs. Our daughter used to pack a stack of extra books that she got from her elementary school and public library in her backpack with another in her arms so this little one (literally, the littlest in her grade) could provide for the other kids at her elementary school for their extracurricular Battle of the Books. She and we noticed that she was bored in class and quiet. It seemed she was waiting, always waiting, to engage more. She was a leader with strong interests, yet it was clear there were both classes and social opportunities that were not available to her. Whatever she put her mind to, she excelled, whether academically or in sports, and until the Academy, there was a loss of what would be next.

Our son, who got lost going into the wrong classes once he arrived at the Academy, was also waiting for more, and I thought, how would he ever manage the rigor of the Academy? He was so very bright but there was an application that didn’t yet kick in when he was in public elementary school. He was in his head, and although the moments we could climb in there with him were magical, as two working (and divorced) parents, we needed a school that could meet both their needs.

Their older brother had attended and thrived at the Albuquerque Academy. Now in his 20s, he is working in a field that is his passion, giving back to the community, and still best friends with his Academy buddies. I remember telling him that, even with tuition assistance, our portion of tuition was the second-largest bill we paid each month, just shy of our mortgage – it was a huge investment and the best one we’ve made – just as I hope you all feel the same.

This is not our first thank you note. The kids and I wrote a few times – and I think I’ve said before that you, the donors who make the Albuquerque Academy a financially realistic option, are literally raising our children with us. You are enabling our children to have something that we as parents so desperately have craved and our children deserve – and none of us have the words to thank you enough. Thank you. Mil gracias. Shuckhran – Todah – Merci. Grazi, and more.

(From one student) I want to say thank you for providing me with tuition assistance. I graduated in May and will be going to Washington University in August. I will be studying architecture. I know I could not have gotten there without the Academy. Here, I have been involved in theater tech, have made many great friends, and have had many great teachers.

(From the other student) By going to Albuquerque Academy I had the opportunity to work with peers who had similar interests and a similar drive for school, as well as teachers who cared what I was interested in. I developed my passion for art in the art department and a passion for journalism through working with The Advocate. I got to try out sports, student government, and other clubs, surrounded by people who were interesting and took an interest in me. I am going to Tufts in the fall for their dual-degree program with the Studio Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts.

As a recipient of tuition assistance, I wanted to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude for the generous financial support you have provided to me and my family.

Your contribution has made a profound difference in our lives, allowing me to continue my education at Academy without the burden of overwhelming financial stress. Thanks to your kindness, I have been able to pursue my dreams and aspirations without the constant worry of how to afford tuition fees. Without tuition assistance, I would never have found myself in the community I am surrounded by today, a vital aspect of my identity.

One of the most impactful experiences I’ve had at Academy was during the 8th-grade retreat at Hummingbird Music Camp. At the hot springs, I discovered a deep love for nature with lifelong friends. At the campfires, my friends sang aloud while I strummed my guitar. I was truly submerged in a strong, kind community I felt I fully belonged to.

Additionally, the mentorship and guidance I have received from Academy’s dedicated faculty have been invaluable. From deep lectures to one-on-one meetings, their commitment to nurturing students’ growth has impacted my academic and personal development. Your contribution has allowed me to benefit from these enriching experiences, for which I am truly grateful.

As I reflect on my time at Academy, I am filled with gratitude for the endless opportunities that have been afforded to me, thanks to your generosity. I would not have achieved my academic potential without Academy. Your belief in the power of education has not only changed my life but has also paved the way for a brighter future for me and my family. I am forever indebted to your kindness, something I hope to repay through societal contributions.

Once again, thank you for your unwavering support and for making it possible for students like me to pursue their dreams. Your kindness will never be forgotten.

As many parents do, I have always wanted to give my son the world. Since a very young age my son showed a passion for knowledge, and this was confirmed as he was identified as gifted through formal testing the summer leading into first grade.

In elementary school he and I jumped through many hurdles to fight for the dedicated hours of higher education he proved to need. Often, his school would not complete his “pullouts” for this time or, when they did, the work that was completed was still not a challenge to him. I will never forget his fifth-grade parent-teacher conference where the teacher stated, “I sometimes let [him] lead the class because he is so smart and everyone listens to him.” While in-depth participation is great, this was truly not the appropriate educational challenge my son needed to excel, and I saw his zest for knowledge slightly begin to waver.

Once again, summer proved to be a monumental time in his life because he was able to attend Albuquerque Academy’s Multicultural Summer Honors Program. I quickly saw his zest for knowledge return. His eyes gleamed as he spoke of the things he learned and the excitement of what tomorrow’s sessions would be. I knew in that instant we had finally found the right educational environment for him.

Now my struggle was how to give him this educational opportunity as I could not financially provide it on my own.

Donors, I want to give you my tremendous gratitude as you have been the reason my son has been able to attend an educational program that has truly nurtured and pushed him. He was able to be exposed to a variety of opportunities that have helped him grow not only intellectually but emotionally. Throughout his time at Albuquerque Academy, he has participated in opera club, basketball, baseball, football, Mock Trial, DECA, Black Student Union, and track and field.

His years at Albuquerque Academy are invaluable to our family because now he truly knows what it is to be challenged, work hard, and accomplish the things he puts his mind to.

Your generosity gives young people of the world a chance to soar in their inherent potential and forever change the future. Thank you.

When I reflect on the most significant impacts on my life, I would rank them as faith, family, friends, and Albuquerque Academy. I started as a young 6th grader from a working family who could never afford to pay the full cost of tuition. I was intimidated by my classmates, unsure of my academic capability, and surrounded by strangers. Thirty-one years later, I’m eternally grateful for all my teachers and coaches who poured their energy into me and the lifelong friends I made while attending the Academy. These gifts, all enabled by the generosity of others, are why I give cheerfully to our school.

Today, my son Andres is completing the homestretch of his senior year, and I have witnessed the same growth in him. My daughter graduated in 2019 and likewise flourished at the Academy. Both benefited from financial aid at some point. I was the first of three older siblings to attend college, and now there is no question our kids will not only enroll but be adequately prepared for college. I have attended what are considered some of the best colleges in the country, and while they taught academics needed for a career, the Academy is still the greatest educational institution I’ve been a part of. It’s not just a place to learn academics but to learn empathy, work ethic, creativity, and a thirst for knowledge. Call it Academagic! I call it teachers, coaches, staff, and administrators giving all they have for the kids.

Today, as much as ever, our community should give to keep the Academagic alive and affordable for the next generation. I can’t think of a more impactful way to improve our future.

Forever grateful,
Alejandro Griñe ’00 and Antonette Griñe
Parents of Andres ’24 and Angelina ’19

Albuquerque Academy has played a huge part in our lives for over 55 years. Bucky started teaching at the Academy in 1968, and our oldest daughter was one of the earlier girls to attend the school, while our other three children followed in her footsteps. When we were awarded legal custody of our late daughter’s children, they too became Academy students – one who graduated last year and the other who is now a junior.

At the Academy, like all independent schools, raising money is a critical and constant issue. Many families make significant sacrifices to afford tuition each year. But tuition alone does not cover all the costs. Salaries have to be competitive to attract and retain the best teachers, the buildings and grounds need to be well maintained to protect the land bestowed to the school, and sports teams, clubs, and extracurriculars require investments to be competitive and represent the school in a positive way. But most of all, Albuquerque Academy is a place full of wonderful people. Our family of eight has lasting relationships and memories of the school. We are happy to be identified with the Academy.

For all these reasons, we continue to give money to the school.

Walter (Bucky) and Randi Buck
Parents of Catherine ’83, Elizabeth ’87, Frances ’91, and Thomas ’91
Grandparents of Jaewon ’23 and Jinwon ’25

In 2005, shortly after I married my husband (Rory McGuire ’95), we moved to Northern California for an amazing job opportunity. When we left, however, Rory expressed his desire to return to New Mexico one day so that our yet-to-be-born children could attend Albuquerque Academy as he had. That blew my mind! Don’t get me wrong – I enjoyed my high school experience as much as the next person, but to relocate over 1,000 miles just so your children could attend your alma mater was definitely not something that would’ve ever occurred to me.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, our return to Albuquerque came a few years earlier than planned, in 2011, with both of our children still under three years old. When the opportunity arose to return to California, we passed on it, deciding instead to stay near the Academy, just as we had planned nearly a decade earlier. And things worked out perfectly. Our son, Leo, is now a sophomore here, while our daughter, Penny, is in 7th grade.

We couldn’t be happier with the education they both are receiving. They have access to classes, teams, clubs, and other opportunities that I (and even Rory, as an Academy alum) could never have dreamed of in middle and high school. Without the Academy Fund covering the $8,000 difference between tuition charges and the actual cost of educating each student, however, this fantastic institution would be just beyond our reach.

This is why we donate to the Academy Fund every year. We are extremely grateful for the assistance it provides and are happy to donate so that other families have access to the same superior educational opportunities.

Jessica & Rory McGuire ’95
Parents of Leo ’26 and Penny ’29