Foundations Film Festival Showcases the Alzar School Approach to Education

Members of our community are often asked to focus on the big picture despite a maelstrom of other concerns competing for their interest: leadership nuggets in a hail storm, chemistry on an airplane, personal growth in a semester of rigorous academics and international travel. Of course, this tension between the monumental and the minute is both necessary–we accomplish a lot into four short months–and by design–it is through challenge that our students become resilient.

Rarely is this tension more evident than last Friday night when, in the midst of packing for a six-week international expedition, our community took time aside to attend the Third Annual Foundations Film Festival. Each fall, Anita, our Director of Advancement, puts together a collection of films that each highlight one or more of our Six Foundations. Proceeds from the event benefit our Valley County Scholarship Program, and the night serves as a cogent reminder of why we do what we do.

Student favorites included Our Theory of Human Motivation, a short film about finding strength inside oneself, and The Wild President, a profile of Jimmy Carter’s relationship with rivers in the Southeastern United States and his work protecting wild places across the country. The People’s Choice award went to Follow Through, the story of a young skier and her journey through adversity to achieve ambitious goals. Izzy Sullivan of New York reflected recently, “It was so inspiring to see how women in the outdoors have become prominent figures and inspirations to other young women… I feel like everything I do at Alzar inspires me to be a better person.”

* Please note that the film festival screening censored some mildly inappropriate language; the linked versions are not censored.