Keaton McCargo (Graduated 2013)
Freestyle Skiing Olympian (2018)
Where did you go to college, and what did you study?
I went to CU Boulder and studied Environmental Design, and I am currently getting my Master’s in Architecture from the University of Utah.
What is the most important life lesson you learned at TMS?
TMS taught me to see the world from other people’s perspectives, I think this is especially important, coming from a small, isolated town.
How did your education at TMS prepare you for life after high school?
It prepared me to be independent and to actively seek out new learning opportunities and adventures. I will forever be a lifelong learner!
What is your favorite memory from Telluride Mountain School?
I have so many! My favorite is probably waking up early in Cambodia to go see Angkor Wat at sunrise or when we hiked up to Machu Picchu and got to watch the clouds lift over the entire valley (also at sunrise).
What are you up to now?
I am currently in Salt Lake City, in school full time for architecture, and I just started working at a local firm. It is all very new and exciting. I ski every day I can, the snow has been so good this year.
Camilla Gardner (Graduated 2016)
Where did you go to college, and what did you study?
I attended Colorado College, double majoring in economics and environmental chemistry.
What is the most important life lesson you learned at TMS?
Telluride Mountain School taught me not to shy away from taking the road less traveled, and that sometimes the greatest rewards come not from taking the ‘easy’ way but rather from charting your own path.
How did your education at TMS prepare you for life after high school?
Mountain School made me a more resilient person. Growing up in an environment that encourages you to get outside of your comfort zone has made navigating life’s curveballs as something to be overcome, not to run away from.
What is your favorite memory from Telluride Mountain School?
Travels with Jesse and Craig on experiential trips are not only some of my favorite memories but have even rooted themselves in my subconscious mind – for whatever reason, many of my dreams to this day are set in a mountain school experiential trip. These trips were always unapologetically real and phenomenally impactful, and on occasion, hilarious. Some moments that still make me laugh: looking on as Jesse and Craig reluctantly sampled the delicacy of duck blood, lovingly prepared by our host family in the Sapa region of Vietnam, and Craig (the keeper of all of our passports) nearly missing our overnight, international train in Prague while on a last-minute snack haul. As the doors were about to close, all of us already on board grabbed our overflowing backpacks, disembarked in a panic and, but then upon seeing Craig walking nonchalantly down the platform swinging a bag of snacks, chaotically pushed our way back onto the train. In that moment, Jesse vowed to never speak to Craig again.
What are you up to now?
Six months ago, I was sidelined from life by debilitating long- COVID. Before this detour, I was loving life in Boulder Colorado as a sustainability consultant, working on the Urban Sustainability Directors Network’s (USDN’s) innovation team to support local government leaders in their efforts relating to circular economy, climate funding and finance, and resilience planning. I hope to be back to this work and all of the activities I love before too long. At USDN I was exploring opportunities to move away from linear take-make-waste models and create more circular, regenerative systems, with a particular interest in plastic waste, and plan to continue exploring in this space as soon as I have the chance.