Knightly News

LAUNCH 2024 will be held on Friday, March 8, and feature a number of presentations by Episcopal students who have spent significant time on a special project. In this series, we will share short articles related to LAUNCH presenters’ topics as a way to foreshadow the many amazing projects and ideas you will see on LAUNCH day. 

Our first article is by Emma Engstrom who emphasizes the research-backed benefits of travel, nature and mindfulness. Her thesis explores the transcendentalist movement, studying works by Thoreau and Emerson and promoting the movement’s ideals as a way to approach modern questions and conflicts. Her work is inspired by her own inner-explorer and the life-changing opportunity she had to study off campus as a junior.

In the fall of my junior year of high school, I attended The Traveling School, a tech-free semester program that immerses students in the outdoors while traveling across the Western United States. For 105 days, I experienced the world with nine other young women without the influence of outside media and limited contact with my home life.

The motivation for this journey came at me fast and hard after the COVID-19 pandemic and the forced seclusion within my home for extended time. In fact, this experience is one that many other students felt compelled to pursue. By the summer of 2021, the Institute for International Education reported a 523% increase in US college students going abroad, with 83% of schools expecting an increase in the 2022-23 academic year.

As a generation, we have collectively gone through the effects of quarantine and a required dissociation from the regularities that we had become accustomed to. Traveling has been a human desire since the Wright brothers took flight into the open skies above, requiring us to go outside our comfort zones; most of us naturally desire to get out of our routine and responsibilities, especially when we’re feeling cooped up, say, on the heels of a global pandemic.

So when COVID-19 momentarily rescinded this privilege, there was a collective understanding and appreciation for traveling, and the majority of my generation has since taken a proactive approach to reconnect with and regain our desire for a different experience. With the collective yearning, people's relationship with traveling and learning new things has only been boosted by the limit that the pandemic required.

National Geographic says that travel should be an essential part of human life, with the pandemic only highlighting the value and importance of experiencing different cultures and a change in routine. This feeling of adrenaline that comes with traveling is rooted in the human connection with nature, and Premier Health claims that even the act of breathing fresh air can increase levels of serotonin.

While experiencing the great outdoors on my trip last year, I developed a deep understanding and relationship with nature that I had never anticipated or expected. I could understand myself better and experience a genuinely surreal and divine peace. Through meditative periods throughout my trip, I was able to find a balance and grasp the extent of value my experience would have on me. Although it took me a flight across the country to realize and develop this connection, not everyone needs to leave their backyard to experience these benefits. In fact, the Episcopal campus is home to many outdoor spaces like the Coach Dupe trail, the rain garden, and the Arts patio, all of which could be used for the purpose of exploring a clear mind.

Even as high school students with the great privilege to attend such a profound school, there are still everyday stressors that can affect us greatly throughout our high school experiences. It is essential to take time for ourselves to maintain emotional stability. By moving our bodies, the American Institute of Stress says that we are releasing endorphins, improving mood and self-esteem, along with the alleviation of stress that the serenity of nature brings with it. But, the truth is, we can practice mindfulness no matter where we are–walking the beautiful grounds of our campus or sitting inside a classroom.

In 2017, a survey by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health reported an 11.1% increase in adults practicing some form of mantra-based meditation, mindfulness meditation, or spiritual meditation in the last 12 months, tripling from 2012. Since the pandemic, there has also been a reported increase in general mindfulness, according to the National Library of Medicine.

Meditation is an individual outlet that many people consider to help with their state of mind and well-being. By clearing the mind of stresses and other influences, meditation allows for a focused mind and an emotionally balanced state. With this calming activity, people can train their attention and awareness to allow themselves to truly listen to their bodies and form a clearer understanding of themselves.

Here at Episcopal, we can experience what research indicates about the benefits of nature and mindfulness. As explorers of our own campus, we can grow to value and appreciate our beautiful landscapes. Through the service learning and experiential education provided by our faculty and administration, Episcopal students are granted the opportunity to experience and implement this research into our everyday lives.

Emma Engstrom is a senior this year and has attended Episcopal since her 8th-grade year. Emma is a part of the Thesis program, where she has been studying proactive ways to implement transcendentalism into modern contexts, and the benefits of developing a relationship with nature. Last fall, Emma attended The Traveling School, where she explored the Western US for three and a half months with nine other young women. While traveling unplugged, Emma learned the importance of exploration and discovered what would eventually become the topic she would study for the next two years. She is also the founder and president of the new up-and-coming Cheese Club, where members meet monthly to enjoy new cheeses and grow as a community.

The Episcopal School of Baton Rouge 2024-2025 application is now available! ​For more information on the application process, to schedule a tour, or learn more about the private school, contact us at [email protected] or 225-755-2685.