Thoreau College

Thoreau College is more than just an educational experience, it is a community of care and acceptance that can both empower bold ambitions and give attention to heavy struggles. During my fellowship at Thoreau College I have been supported in an internship with a local community engagement group, have found many likeminded (earth and community focused) people of all ages in the Viroqua community, have had access to a wide range of Driftless Folk School classes, and have also been supported in my independent study. My semester at Thoreau has truly been enriching! Great caring and kind people, great organic food, deep conversations, and lots of hope for the earth's future!

My summer in Viroqua with Thoreau College was life-changing and unforgettable. It gave me an appreciation for and understanding of the natural world that I could not have gotten on my own, and I think it is extremely important that everybody has an experience like this. Furthermore, I think alternative forms of education like this one are integral to a well-functioning society and are necessary for those who like to learn in a hands-on manner. The housing situation was wonderful, I loved sharing a beautiful house with other students, and Thoreau staff were extremely attentive and caring to everyone's respective needs. Overall, I could not recommend this program enough and anybody would be lucky to have such an experience.

I spent half a year attending school at Thoreau College, realizing I loved the area and the community I was surrounded by, I decided to stay! Viroqua is a charming town, full of music, art and revolutionary people. My time spent in this program was life changing in every way, I was challenged to think about how I show up in the world, what I want with my life and pushed me to make bigger jumps for my future. I would recommend this program to anyone that feels lost, uninspired or unsure of what they want with their life. Always testing my limits!

Thoreau College is a moving and mind opening program, everything from outdoor Expeditions to Classroom Discussion and Community building, it's intimate and immersive. My teachers and housemates have been so caring and supportive towards me and helped me move towards my plans for the future. I have gardened here, camped, canoed the Boundary Waters and the WI River, and have made friends that I will miss dearly. I've laughed, I've cried, I've slept in the woods! there will always be a piece of me here. This is your chance to grasp onto something beautiful and fleeting, take it, breathe it and live it!

Thoreau College is a very, very hard place to convey in words. We've done things from camping on the fast-flowing lower Wisconsin river, drawing pictures of corn, read articles on world religions, tracked deer in winter and fall, discussed Walden, butchered and eaten chickens with our own hands, illegally canoed into Canada, and walked in corn fields while discussing GMOs. But beyond the wisdom about the world that this place instills in you, the most wisdom it will give you, is that towards yourself and others.