Wilderness Fund Award Feature: Amelie Grant '27

Each year, through the generosity of the Class of 1968, Midland’s Wilderness Fund Award supports a student in pursuing a significant summer wilderness course or skills training. The fund grew out of a simple idea from a small class that stayed close: their own time in wild places changed them, and they wanted future Midlanders to have equally formative experiences.

Past recipients have used the award for NOLS courses, sea kayaking expeditions, mountaineering trips, and wilderness first responder trainings. The expectation is simple and very Midland: you go out, you stretch yourself, you learn – and then you bring those skills and insights back to this community.

This year’s recipient, Amelie Grant ’27, spent 30 days on an Outward Bound mountaineering course in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. Here’s a glimpse into what the experience meant to her.

“Proof of how much I’ve grown”

Amelie went into the course expecting to be the least experienced person there.

“I assumed everyone else would already love this stuff and know way more than I did.”

Instead, she quickly realized how prepared she actually was. Years of Midland Outdoor Program and Outdoor Leadership experience kicked in: packing systems, stoves, navigation, group travel. It all felt familiar.

“It made me a lot more self-confident. These were kids my age, starting from zero together, and I could see, concretely, how much I’d already learned at Midland. It was like proof of how much I’ve grown in the last two years.”

That realization shifted how she saw herself–not just as a participant, but as someone with real skills and something to offer.

Choosing challenge on purpose

When she applied for the Wilderness Fund this time around (she’d applied once before and didn’t receive it as a ninth grader), Amelie knew she wanted a course that would really stretch her.

Her first Midland Sierra trip, back when she was a freshman, had been her hardest backcountry experience–and the one that pulled her deeper into the outdoors instead of pushing her away. Older students mentored her through the miserable parts and helped her stay out there.

This time, she decided to return to that kind of challenge on purpose:

• High altitude
• Technical terrain
• A group of people she’d never met before

“My goal is to go from being the little freshman who needed all the help to being the person who can offer that same care to someone else. This course felt like a chance to step into that.”

The hardest part wasn’t the hiking

Physically, Amelie felt strong. She didn’t get a single blister, handled long days with a heavy pack, and found the technical challenge exciting rather than overwhelming.

The real work was the group dynamic.

Ten students.

Four sent by their parents.

Some who didn’t want to be there at all.

“I thought the hard part would be wanting to go home. Instead, it was figuring out how to live with constant conflict and negative energy–and how to be a positive force without making things worse. One of my biggest takeaways is that the energy you surround yourself with is the energy you start to take on. The flip side is that I quickly and deeply bonded with the people who were excited to be there.”

She learned where her responsibility began and ended: when to step in, when to step back, and when to ask someone else to intervene.

“I tend to hold other people’s emotions inside my own out of care. On this trip, I had to learn when it was actually not my problem, and when it really was my job to do something. That’s leadership too.”

Those lessons have already followed her home–into how she leads on Midland trips and how she supports friends without burning herself out.

“Fire for my soul”

Amelie likes to joke that she worried most about 30 days without a bed, shower, or all her favorite foods. Once she was in it, none of that mattered.

“I realized I don’t need very much to thrive. Living out of a backpack was enough–as long as I had wild places and beauty. Being out there was fire for my soul.”

She talks about:

• Starting up a summit at 1:45 a.m. to beat the forecasted afternoon monsoon
• Moving on ropes along a steep granite ridge
• Lightning storms echoing around a granite bowl
• Nine hours of rain that left everything soaked–and still laughing with friends as they slipped in mud and played trail games in Spanish

“I wish the Class of ’68 could have seen that day. It could have been miserable. Instead, I was laughing so hard after I ripped my rain pants on the wettest day of the whole trip. That’s how much I loved being out there.”

Coming home different

Back at Midland, the impact of the course has shown up in very concrete ways.

On this fall’s Sierra trip, Dan and Bella gave her the leader-of-the-day role on the hardest day: 11 miles, a pass to cross, storm clouds building, and a group still adjusting to altitude.

“There’s a difference between feeling ready and having other people trust you. They basically said, ‘You see what’s happening. Take the lead. We’ll be in the back.'”

She found herself thinking about weather, pacing, water sources, and backup campsites in a way she hadn’t before. The Outward Bound course didn’t just give her new skills; it gave her a sharper awareness of what she’s capable of and how to use that for the good of the group.

“I did the course right in the middle of my Midland years. It kind of steepened the slope of my growth. Now I have almost two more years to share what I’ve learned.”

What the Wilderness Fund means to her

Amelie is very clear: she wouldn’t have done the course without the Wilderness Fund.

“They (Class of ’68) don’t know me personally. They just trusted that some 14- or 16-year-old would use this experience to grow and give back. That level of generosity is incredible.”

Because the applications are anonymous, she also felt seen for her actions and reflections, not just her personality.

Her Outward Bound instructors went so far as to say they’d be expecting her application as an instructor when she turns 21.

“Before this, I didn’t totally know what that work looked like,” she said. “Now I do. And I’d love to spend my summers sharing what I love with young people.”

A message to the Class of ’68

If she could talk directly to the Class of ’68, Amelie says she’d thank them for two things: trust and joy.

“Your generosity let me go from point A to somewhere much farther along as a Midland student–and then around the circle a few more times. You didn’t just give me a trip. You gave me a clearer sense of who I am, what I love, and how I can share that with others.”

What moves her most is the cycle they’ve started.

“You loved something so much that you wanted other people to love it too. I feel the same way. I had a transformative experience in the outdoors, and now all I want is to be that person for someone else. Your fund makes that possible.”

For students: thinking about applying?

Amelie’s short answer: yes, apply.

“The easy answer is: it’s free money–why not?”

But more than that, she says, the Wilderness Fund is a chance to:

• Choose a challenge that genuinely stretches you
• Learn skills or visit terrain Midland doesn’t usually offer
• Come back with more trust in yourself and more trust from the community

“Dan already builds Outdoor Leadership so that older students are teaching newer ones. The Wilderness Fund deepens that. You go out, learn something new, and then bring it home so you can pass it on.”

View Amelie’s Photo Album Here >>>