Alaska Is:
         Alaska is a minefield of attitudes, ideas, and opportunities waiting to explode and change our future.

Final Reflection:
        I am a science teacher. I created the Alaska Great Lakes Project as an extension of the science I was teaching in my classroom, and a way for students to learn science in the “real world.” The first trips to Alaska were focused entirely on science: data collection on the beaches, interviews about the spill, and water testing. Looking back on AGLP 2006 and the last couple of years, I can see that the project has evolved into something much bigger than science.
      Where is the science in the thrill of standing atop the first mountain a student has ever climbed? … in the realization that he/she can finish a five mine race? … in the discovery that people they did not like before the trip can become some of their best friends? …in the development of confidence in each’s abilities and hopes for the future?
      The Alaska Great Lakes Project has become a powerful tool to allow each student, if they choose to let it, to learn about himself/herself and to help to direct the direction their own life takes. Beginning with the first trip as an eighth grader, and through the leadership programming, students are offered the chance to look inside to see who they really are. Based on what they find, skills are offered to help them to cope with the challenges of everyday life, while making the most of what skills, needs, and abilities they find at their core.
      I could name some specific examples of the tremendous growth that has taken place by individuals on the trips, but that growth has come to all who traveled, and I don’t want to overlook anyone. It is this evolution of the AGLP that keeps me energized to make it happed year after year. I am proud of all the current and past members of the Project, and hope to make it happen again and again.
      Thanks to all the participants, junior leaders and beaders, adult drivers, parent fund raisers, and the community of Marshall, as well as my wife, who support the adventure. There are few towns the size of Marshall that could make something like this happen year after year.