Residential Life

I will remember the people— students and faculty alike—for the rest of my life. The community that develops at the RMS is the most supportive I have known. It is something that has to be experienced to be believed. — Kit Gallagher; Cambridge, Massachusetts

In addition to the wilderness program and rigorous academic classes, residential life during the Rocky Mountain Semester plays an essential role in the whole experience. Students and faculty live and work very closely for the four months of the semester. The same people teach academic classes, lead expeditions, play games in the afternoon, lead morning exercises, cook dinner with a group of students, and help maintain the buildings. The campus is small, so each student and faculty member cannot help but to get to know everyone well over the course of four months.

It is these people—faculty and students alike—that make the Rocky Mountain Semester: the peers who push you to take the next step up the mountain, the teachers who make you look again, and again, to find your own answer, and the friends whose collective inspiration and encouragement help you achieve what you would never do alone.

It is no surprise that students who work well together on expeditions thrive in the classroom and in the community. Whether solving a math problem, encouraging each other during morning exercise, or creating a schedule to keep the fi re in the cabin warm at night, teamwork and understanding developed on expeditions enable the entire semester to perform at a higher level.

We are bonded in a great adventure at the RMS. The friendships you make here will be with you for the rest of your life.