{"id":18068,"date":"2025-08-19T08:42:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T12:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/?p=18068"},"modified":"2026-07-31T09:50:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T13:50:57","slug":"careers-that-soak-up-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/2025\/08\/19\/careers-that-soak-up-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"Careers That Soak Up the Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

These graduates\u2019 professions heat up in summertime.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Go Wild <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Madagascar \u2014 where 100+ varieties of lemurs leap and 800-year-old baobab trees tower \u2014 travelers find an island on which 90% of its species exist nowhere else in the world. But you\u2019re probably not getting there on your own. That\u2019s where Anne (Milmoe) \u201997 Avellana comes in.<\/p>\n\n\n

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In her work with Natural Habitat Adventures, Anne (Milmoe) \u201997 Avellana has traveled to Tsingy de Namoroka National Park in Madagascar (above left; photo by Ludovic Ravaohery) and Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe (above right).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

She\u2019s a senior adventure director at Natural Habitat Adventures, a travel company that offers wilderness experiences like swimming with sea lions in the Gal\u00e1pagos, photographing pumas in Patagonia, and encountering orangutans in Borneo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organization curates small-group trips with an eco-conscious focus, from the travel logistics to the educational opportunities to its relationships with host countries. \u201cThe fact that Natural Habitat Adventures believes that travel plays a crucial role in protecting the planet and that conservation and exploration go hand in hand is certainly one of the main reasons why I work there,\u201d Avellana says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From her office in Boulder, Colo., she currently specializes in designing trips to southern Africa \u2014 Madagascar, Zambia, and Zimbabwe \u2014 where the high season is during the U.S. summer because it\u2019s wintertime in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Avellana plans every detail, from the sites to the guides to the hotels and meals, keeping sustainability in mind for everything. \u201cFor instance, if I need to charter a plane to bring a group of travelers to their destination, I strategically schedule the trip dates so that the same plane can bring a different group of travelers back,\u201d she explains, adding that the company offsets the emissions of all flights. (Natural Habitat Adventures calls itself \u201cthe world\u2019s first 100% carbon-neutral travel company.\u201d) Nearly all of the guides are locals, and the partnering hotels and organizations must share an eco-friendly ethos. Avellana is even mindful of the nitty-gritty: \u201cI spend a lot of time looking for ways to reduce waste by making sure we have things like cloth napkins and reusable water bottles on our trips.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The larger mission is to educate travelers and boost economies in the host countries in order to preserve natural resources. \u201cBy having people travel, we\u2019re lifting up all of these communities, and indeed, countries,\u201d Avellana says. \u201cIn Madagascar, most of the forests have been destroyed through slash and burn agriculture. The areas that are protected have amazing biodiversity. We want to work with locals to realize that trees are more valuable up than down because of the tourism dollars these areas bring in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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A cheetah at Marataba Game Reserve in South Africa; photo by Anne (Milmoe) \u201997 Avellana <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Natural Habitat Adventures is a partner of the World Wildlife Fund and, as such, works with scientists and experts to inform its travelers through lectures. Many who take these trips are Americans, Avellana says, and \u201c[when we] bring people to see these special places, they\u2019re going to get invested in them. A lot of the people who travel with us are very influential and can help shape policy and, hopefully, leave the planet a little bit better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Avellana tells people about her job, it\u2019s a common misconception that she\u2019s always on vacation, but she does travel once a year to scout her locations. At press time, she was preparing for two weeks in Madagascar to do recon for a new trip she\u2019s planning. Her checklist included visiting different camps, interviewing guides and drivers, and talking to restaurants about meeting dietary restrictions \u2014 \u201cmaking sure people\u2019s basic needs are taken care of is a lot of what I help set up ahead of time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in Boulder, every few weeks, Avellana takes the emergency phone shift, assisting travelers and trip partners anywhere at any time, with situations like missed flights or itinerary pivots due to weather.<\/p>\n\n\n

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In her 12 years with Natural Habitat Adventures, Avellana has specialized in different locations. She spent a decade managing trips to see polar bears in Manitoba and grizzly bears in Alaska. The latter is one of her personal favorite travel experiences, in Katmai National Park, where the bears haven\u2019t been threatened by humans \u201cso they just don\u2019t care about us, and you can be a couple meters away,\u201d she says. \u201cBeing on the ground with such an apex predator in a very safe way is a thrilling experience,\u201d she says. \u201cIt does not compare to anything else I\u2019ve seen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avellana doesn\u2019t call herself a thrill seeker; rather she seeks outdoor experiences \u2014 in skiing, hiking, and kayaking \u2014 and enjoys helping make Earth\u2019s wonders more accessible to travelers. \u201cThere are lots of ways to go on summer vacation, and I\u2019m proud to design and operate trips like these for people who are interested in the natural world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal Landmarks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Top recommendations for summer travel: <\/strong>Madagascar and Alaska<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family vacation plans this summer: <\/strong>a multiday whitewater rafting trip from Colorado to Utah on the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument with her husband and daughter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First trip outside the U.S.: <\/strong>studying abroad in Florence, Italy, as a Colgate student<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bucket list destination: <\/strong>hiking in the Himalayas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wildlife goal: <\/strong>gorilla trekking in Uganda<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colgate connection: <\/strong>Avellana\u2019s dad, Jim Milmoe \u201969 \u2014 a class editor for the magazine since 1990 \u2014 took a Natural Habitat Adventure trip to see the Northern Lights in Churchill, Manitoba.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Training the Next Generation <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before the gates of Seattle\u2019s Woodland Park Zoo swing open to allow families to stream in, Kate Dugdale \u201916 arrives in advance of her 8 a.m. clock-in. She revels in this peaceful time to stroll the grounds, greet other employees, and visit the animals. The snow leopards \u2014 who welcomed three cubs last year, so their exhibit is usually crowded \u2014 are her favorite. The Living Northwest Trail is another stop on her route, because the river otters and gray wolves are comfortable in Seattle\u2019s weather \u201cso you\u2019re pretty much always going to see an animal there.\u201d   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dugdale isn\u2019t training the big cats or tending to the aquatic creatures, though; she\u2019s overseeing human teenagers.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Kate Dugdale \u201916; photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As a learning coordinator, Dugdale manages and develops programs for teens and young adults \u2014 the biggest part of which is the summer college internship program. It\u2019s a program she knows well, not only from being in her position since February 2024, but also from being a participant. Dugdale grew up in Seattle and worked at the zoo as a high schooler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Colgate she majored in history and anthropology, taking museum-related classes (before it became an official program), and was a student assistant at the Longyear. After earning her master\u2019s in museum studies at the University of Washington, she held several part-time positions at Seattle-area museums and then spent four years managing educational programming at the National Nordic Museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI currently work at a zoo, but most of my training and background is in museums. They\u2019re very similar types of organizations,\u201d she explains, \u201cyou just have to think of the animals as the collection at a zoo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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She\u2019s come full circle at Woodland Park Zoo, spending part of her workdays at the Zoomazium, a learning center for younger children, where she began developing her skills in early childhood education as a teenager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other half of her job is running the internship program, which requires recruiting supervisors in winter, creating positions and hiring in spring, prepping for the interns (12 this year, with a plan to grow the program to 20) at the start of the summer, ensuring smooth workflows from July through August, and evaluating the program and debriefing in fall.<\/p>\n\n\n

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She acts as a resource for the supervisors and interns, putting out fires that can include resolving conflicts between the two. \u201cMy role requires me to have relationships across the zoo in different departments,\u201d she explains, so her walkabouts give her the chance to not only see the animals but also \u201cbe visible and talk to folks on different teams, making sure they know who I am because they might be working with an intern I\u2019ve hired.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dugdale also leads a cohort experience with the interns, coaching them in professional development, inviting guest speakers to talk about career pathways into zoos and conservation, and organizing field trips to related Seattle organizations, like the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside of Woodland Park Zoo\u2019s 92 acres, Dugdale spends her off hours enjoying her home city. \u201cSummer in Seattle is Seattle\u2019s secret,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen you think of Seattle, you think of terrible weather. In the summer, it\u2019s gorgeous, and people are outside all the time, hiking, backpacking, running [activities she herself does]. But we don\u2019t tell people that.\u201d (Keep it under wraps, readers.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zoo photos courtesy of Woodland Park Zoo <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Selling Ice Cream Dreams <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve likely seen freeze-dried ice cream for astronauts. Game changer: What if they could make fresh soft-serve on the Moon? That\u2019s a professional goal of Paul Toscano \u201907, senior director of sales at ColdSnap, which sells single-serve frozen-treat machines and mixes.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Paul Toscano \u201907; photos by Laura Barisonzi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Toscano recently sold the products to NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and on his visit to the Pasadena, Calif., site, his contact wondered aloud: Could they put a machine on the Moon base? \u201cI\u2019d love to work on that project with you,\u201d Toscano replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Long Island\u2013based salesman had another unexpected experience recently, when the Archdiocese of Newark (NJ) was purchasing two machines for its cafeteria. The deal was delayed due to the momentous passing of Pope Francis. \u201cI never thought the Pope would be affecting my workflow,\u201d Toscano says.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Organizations like the JPL and Archdiocese of Newark \u2014 along with universities, stadium boxes, golf courses, and car dealerships \u2014 are the types of clients to which Toscano caters. There are a few hundred private residences that have the ColdSnap machine, but its main customer profile centers around group gathering places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how Toscano built his career scoop by scoop:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A psychology major, he still uses the skills he learned at Colgate today<\/strong>. \u201cBeing in sales, I deal directly with people, and seeing things from their perspective is really important in developing meaningful relationships. I credit my time at Colgate for developing my understanding of how people think, react, and operate.\u201d He also still keeps in touch with Doug Johnson, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of psychological and brain sciences. Toscano went on the Wollongong, Australia, study-abroad trip with him and says, \u201cHe\u2019s one of my favorite professors of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a film and media studies minor, Toscano got his first job as an associate producer at NBC and was soon promoted to producer at CNBC.<\/strong> At the same time, he earned his MBA at New York University: \u201cI always wanted to do something creative, and business school taught me that being creative in a business sense can be really interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At CNBC, he started producing stories \u201cabout cool companies,\u201d<\/strong> and covered a coffee company called Joyride. He couldn\u2019t stop thinking about the concept (cold brew coffee on tap), met with the founders several times to learn about their growth plan, and signed on as its COO in 2013. He helped expand Joyride to a $30 million business, but when the pandemic hit, the company was acquired by Aramark Refreshments. \u201cI knew that I really wanted to stay in high-end food,\u201d Toscano says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He spent three years at Aramark Refreshments<\/strong> before becoming wowed by ColdSnap in 2023. \u201cThis is going to go somewhere,\u201d he remembers thinking. \u201cWe get to change the landscape in ice cream.\u201d The machine was imagined by the founder and his two daughters who wanted to figure out how to make an easy-to-use, single-serve ice cream machine. The product is approximately the size of an espresso machine and works by inserting a small can, which is shelf stable and thus has a lower carbon footprint. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the handful of flavors of ice cream<\/strong> (there are also nondairy options, protein shakes, a fruit smoothie, and two coffees), Toscano has a hard time choosing his favorite: \u201cboozy bourbon \u2026 salted caramel \u2026 Mexican hot chocolate, final answer.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Moon to a Connecticut golf course that wants to install a machine on a golf cart,<\/strong> Toscano\u2019s sales are serving up fun. \u201cI feel very lucky because I get to travel around the country talking about ice cream. It\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Making Boating More Accessible By The Numbers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Out on Cape Cod, Mass., a surprising proportion of children who live there have never been on a boat. So every June at Pleasant Bay Community Boating (PBCB), Ali Hogue \u201918 organizes First Sail, which brings local third graders and their teachers to the Harwich-based campus for a free ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone goes out and has a great time,\u201d says Hogue, who is program director at PBCB. The nonprofit\u2019s offerings are for everyone \u2014 in addition to school groups, there are adult lessons, cruises for the Councils on Aging, and adaptive programs. \u201cWe try to get every cross section of our community covered,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Ali Hogue \u201918 in Cape Cod; photo by Julia Cumes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Adaptive sailing and kayaking programs enable those who have physical or cognitive challenges to experience the water, sometimes for the first time. Beyond a dedicated adaptive program, PBCB aims to make all of its programming as inclusive as possible. \u201cWe\u2019ll get calls from parents who say that their kid is typically turned away from other programs because of a disability, but more often than not, we\u2019re able to find ways to make our youth sailing programs accessible for their child. It\u2019s important to us that everybody feels they have a place here and on the water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hogue grew up in North Attleboro, Mass., but vacationed on the Cape with her family and worked at Cape Cod Sea Camps during her college summers. A biology major at Colgate, she tried working in a lab after graduation, but quickly found that the spark wasn\u2019t there: \u201cThe people around me were super happy to come check their parasites in the middle of the night, and I did not have that level of excitement about what we were doing,\u201d she says. \u201cI was having dreams of quitting my job and going back to work at camp. [Now] here I am. I manifested a full-time, year-round job of working at a camp.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She joined PBCB as a science director in 2021 and moved into the role of program director, managing operations and staff \u2014 as well as filling in gaps when needed. \u201cLike any small nonprofit, everyone does everything,\u201d says Hogue, who sometimes washes boats, fixes website issues, and handles social media. In the off-season, PBCB offers events like family science nights, lectures, and yoga workshops: \u201cWe dabble in lots of stuff over the winter to try to keep people engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Head to the beach to learn more about Hogue and her work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a 501(c)(3)<\/strong> nonprofit, and our mission is to make boating and marine science education more affordable and accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe offer ~4,500<\/strong> experiences a year\u201d to local youth, adults, outreach participants, and school groups.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPBCB offers semi-private and group sailing, paddling, and a floating classroom experience for individuals and a range of partner organizations, totaling around 400<\/strong> experiences per season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur floating classroom [named Friend<\/em>] is a 37-foot<\/strong> pontoon boat with solar panels on top, so it is fully solar powered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9\/5\/25:<\/strong> \u201cWe end the summer with a big regatta weekend, The Sandpiper Invitational. Then we pull the boats because we\u2019re getting into hurricane season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI learned to sail when I was 11<\/strong> or 12<\/strong>. My first job in sailing was working at Sea Camp in Florida for one summer [as a first-year at Colgate].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2<\/strong> certifications: \u201cI have my U.S. Sailing instructor cert, and my launch tender license with the Coast Guard, so I can drive people out to their moored boats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1979<\/strong>: Colgate graduating class of her mom, Jan (Huerter) Hogue<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe waterfront\u2019s open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.<\/strong> every day, so we\u2019re busy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10-second<\/strong> reflection about summertime: \u201cThe best part is working a long day in the sun, and then you go home, take your shower, get in your comfy clothes, and you\u2019re on the deck enjoying a sunset. You just had a great day outside, and then it\u2019s that golden hour relaxing time, knitting or reading on the porch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Taking the Sweat Out of Pickleball <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wendi Green \u201998 Aspes became obsessed with pickleball the way many people did: She was at home during the pandemic looking for something to do when she decided to give it a try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI ordered a net and some starter paddles and set it up in the driveway, and the whole family just started playing,\u201d says Aspes, an avid tennis player who lives in Atlanta. \u201cAnd I realized this is a lot more fun than I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While playing with her brother-in-law, Aspes noticed that they were both wiping the sweat off their hands on their clothes. A fast-paced mashup of badminton and ping pong, pickleball involves constant movement, which can lead to excessive sweating. To deal with this problem, Aspes turned to gels, powders, sweat bands, and towels before coming up with a better solution: Designing clothing that would absorb sweat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aspes uses a patented technology called DRYV, a two-layer fabric that wicks moisture away from the body while acting as a towel to absorb sweat. After spending months creating a line of sports apparel incorporating this fabric, Aspes and her brother-in-law, Jason, launched Wringer Wear in March 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you talk to any player, whether it\u2019s pickleball, paddle tennis, ping pong, racquetball, or squash, and you say, \u2018Do your hands sweat when you play?\u2019 \u2014 every single one across the board says \u2018yes\u2019 because you\u2019re holding a paddle or racket tightly,\u201d Aspes says. \u201cSo we\u2019re a solution for a problem that racket sports enthusiasts have. You can wipe your hands directly on your gear and it will absorb the sweat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wringer Wear is available online, at selected clubs across the country, and at pickleball tournaments nationwide. The line includes everything from shirts to sweatshirts to hats; prices range from $35 to $95. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Creating a sports apparel business is what Aspes calls her \u201csecond act,\u201d following a 10-year career working in the nonprofit world \u2014 most recently as marketing director for Ian\u2019s Friends Foundation for pediatric brain cancer research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While she is now a board member, Aspes left her position at the foundation in March so she could focus on her new start-up. Her work on the venture had begun in 2021 when she partnered with a California-based manufacturing company to bring her idea to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the country, and Wringer was built for those who love the community and the competitive aspects of the game,\u201d Aspes says. Statistics bear out that claim: For the past four years, participation in pickleball has increased more than the growth in any other sport, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aspes hopes that Wringer Wear will give players a competitive edge in their game because it will allow them to focus on their next point instead of their sweaty hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, the reaction to the line from pickleball players Aspes has met at tournaments has been positive. \u201cPeople are really excited,\u201d she says. \u201cThey see it as a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The demand for the apparel is likely to increase as pickleball continues to grow in popularity because of its appeal to all age groups and the sense of community it offers, Aspes says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe live in a divisive world, and not that pickleball is going to solve any of our world problems, but it brings people together,
and you feel like you\u2019re part of something,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Sherrie Negrea<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Breath of Fresh Air for City Kids <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Several times a week, Lisa Gitelson \u201991 leaves her office in midtown Manhattan and drives two hours north to Sharpe Reservation in Fishkill, N.Y., where she\u2019ll visit one of the Fresh Air Fund camps and its Model Farm. The farm cultivates more than just rhubarb and strawberries; New York City children learn about plant care, eating healthy, and tending to animals. This is in addition to traditional camp activities like swimming, boating, and arts and crafts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lisa Gitelson \u201991; photos courtesy of Fresh Air Fund<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Five of the Fresh Air Fund\u2019s six sleepover camps are on Sharpe Reservation, and as CEO of the youth development organization \u2014 which provides outdoor experiences, at no cost, to New York City children from underserved communities \u2014 Gitelson goes to support the staff, connect with campers, and give tours to potential donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, I\u2019m in charge of making sure that this work happens,\u201d Gitelson says to describe her job in a nutshell. She just completed a new strategic plan for the organization and oversees all operations, including fundraising, staff, and communications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This role, which she began in 2022, is the latest in Gitelson\u2019s career of advocating for children. She spent numerous years as an attorney specializing in foster care and family court cases. Then in 2012, she accepted a position as director of foster care and adoption at the family services nonprofit Sheltering Arms, after serving as its in-house counsel. This new role \u201cwas something I\u2019d always been extraordinarily interested in doing. I moved into big-picture work and impact work; it felt like a natural progression of what I hoped to do,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gitelson, who grew up in Croton on Hudson, N.Y., \u201cloved the outdoors\u201d; she went to summer camp as a kid and became a counselor as a teenager. Her two children \u2014 who are now 20 and 24 \u2014 also went to camp and have an appreciation for nature, even though she raised them in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of my kids will call and say, \u2018I\u2019m having a really hard day. I\u2019m going to go for a walk in the park.\u2019 I love that. [Being outside] gives you a way to center yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That mindset \u2014 that children can savor nature, even with skyscrapers nearby \u2014 propels her work today. \u201cThe outdoors impacts each of us in the most positive of ways: physically, mentally, and in learning,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The organization is launching a new program called Fresh Air City Explorers, focusing on mentorship and outdoor access all year. \u201cIn my dream, on Saturday you come to our program, and you go sledding at Inwood Hill and have hot cocoa. We don\u2019t want kids to think the only way to get outdoors is to get on a bus and come to us during the summer. We want them to know that the outdoors of New York City is theirs year-round.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another new program is at Camp Tommy, which received its starter funding from Tommy Hilfiger. (There\u2019s also Camp Mariah, supported by Mariah Carey.) Camp Tommy is transforming from a camp for teen boys to a youth leadership training camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of our major goals is that our youth stay with us to become our staff,\u201d Gitelson said on the podcast Learning Unboxed<\/em>. \u201cWe want youth who were campers to be our counselors, to be our leaders, to be the next CEO.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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STEAM By the Sea <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every summer, Newport, R.I., hosts tennis tournaments, golf championships, sailing regattas, and tens of thousands of tourists oohing and ahhing their way through the opulent mansions built by Gilded-Age millionaires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the City by the Sea is not all glitz and glamour. Just 3 miles from the tony shops of Thames Street and the lavish \u201csummer cottages\u201d of Bellevue Avenue, the North End might seem a world away. The neighborhood is home to half of Newport\u2019s school children and a significant population of marginalized residents \u2014 many of whom power, rather than partake in, the tourism and hospitality industry.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Steve Heath \u201980 (right); photo by Sipprelle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The North End is also home to the Newport Experience, or NEX, a six-week, full-day summer program that enables the area\u2019s young people, grades 5 and up, to explore and engage in the riches of Newport County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NEX is an offshoot of FabNewport, an experiential learning program for middle and high school students founded by Steve Heath \u201980 in 2013. At the time, with two decades of teaching under his belt, Heath was serving as internship coordinator for the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, where students do much of their learning in real working environments \u2014 a perfect fit, given his conviction that young people often learn best outside of the classroom. One day, he led a field trip to a Fab Lab, or digital fabrication laboratory, in Providence. (A fabrication laboratory provides community members with access to computer-controlled equipment, software, and training, making it possible to design and make \u201calmost anything,\u201d according to MIT, where the concept originated.) During the visit, Heath was struck by the students\u2019 enthusiastic response. We need one of these!<\/em> thought Heath, who soon obtained a grant for FabNewport. Today it runs a year-round slate of STEAM programs in schools and offers after-school programs in its North End lab, which provides space, materials, and tools for kids to make, learn, and do \u2014 whether that\u2019s creating jewelry, using a laser engraver, or making a fishing rod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organization has also cultivated a network of area partners who expose students to resources to which they might otherwise not have access, such as surfing, golf, sailing, a wildlife sanctuary, the town\u2019s art museum, and local farms. Heath, who describes himself as \u201ca catalyst who is weaving Fab learners into the fabric of the community,\u201d points out that the benefits of access flow both ways. FabNewport\u2019s partners want to serve under-resourced youth, he says, \u201cbecause service is where we are at our best. Doing something for someone else is when human beings feel fulfilled.\u201d It\u2019s a perspective he acquired at Colgate, where he majored in philosophy and religion. His professors were \u201cthe first group of people I\u2019d met who were committed to something outside of themselves,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, after five successful years of FabNewport, Heath and colleagues realized there was a need for learner-centered, content-rich programming not only at the end of the school day, but also at the end of the school year, so they created NEX. Seven years later \u2014 and despite recent funding cuts \u2014 the camp is thriving: 50 young people, mostly from the North End, are taking advantage of what Aquidneck Island has to offer this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to creating a sense of trust, inclusivity, and belonging, Heath says, both FabNewport (which recently won the Youth Empowerment Award from the Rhode Island Governor\u2019s Workforce Board) and NEX aim to provide kids with a sense of agency \u2014 the ability to envision a positive future for themselves undergirded by the skills and relationships that can help them realize that vision. This is a big leap from the original Fab Lab concept, he says: \u201cWe\u2019ve gone from making things to making lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Sarah C. Baldwin<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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