Semester School

The call to leave the ordinary world and venture into the unknown is an ancient one for people of all cultures. Kroka’s semester long programs are an answer to that call…

A Kroka semester is a uniquely transformative experience. We spend long periods of time on self-sufficient expeditions, discovering the world and ourselves in ways that we may not have experienced until now. We embrace risk, welcome discomfort, and experience the vulnerability that arises with challenge and interdependency. In doing so, we have the opportunity to shed the layers between ourselves and the world, and to wake up to what it is to be fully human.

Legends of the Southwest

NOW ENROLLING
FALL 2024

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Full Circle Winter Semester

FULL
WINTER 2024

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Ecuador Semester

COMING SOON!
FALL 2025

 

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We offer semester-long programs for 16-21 year olds. Each journey is based on extended wilderness travel, participation in a vibrant community life and a robust academic curriculum. Students may be eligible to receive either high school or college credit. Students can attend one or more semesters in a given academic year.  Those interested in spending a full year at Kroka will be given priority in the admissions process.

Just the Facts

  • Kroka Expeditions is an accredited semester program for high school, gap year, and college students ages 16-21
  • We encourage participation by everyone through our sliding scale and scholarships
  • Programs are limited to 13 students, and applications are accepted on a rolling basis
  • Students bring themselves to a Kroka Semester fully, honestly, and by their own free will
  • Our programs are accredited by the Association for Experiential Education
  • Curriculum is accredited through Sterling College in Vermont, and college credit is available
  • Students can enroll in one or both semesters 
  • Our student body tends to be about 46% male and 54% female
  • 100% of students come to Kroka because they dared to leave daily life behind and discover who they are and what they’re capable of!

The Gifts of Semester

  • We experience the beauty of what the Norwegians call friluftsliv, roughly translated as free life in nature, moving with sureness and ease over the land.
  • A sense of intimacy with the natural world is gained – one semester student said, “when the pressure drops, I can taste it in my mouth, and I know it will rain.”
  •  We shed many of the layers of modern life and our true selves are given a chance to emerge, calling us to step more fully into the light of who we are and can become.
  • We work with our hands to make many of the things we need, tapping into the ancient knowledge of how to care for ourselves in relationship to the land.
  • We sing – at meals, at work, on the trail – as a means of celebration, giving thanks, and community.
  • We hold serious responsibility for the group: if firewood isn’t gathered, the dinner goes uncooked, if the navigator is sloppy with their map, the destination will not be reached. Our ideas about personal contribution and interconnection begin to shift.
  • These experiences contribute to our ability to serve the common good towards a just and peaceful world. This is something that we cannot unlearn, and carry forward into our lives.

“Kroka provides truly holistic outdoor experiences in which participants not only gain incredible confidence and skills, but more importantly, learn how to be in right relationship with each other and the earth.”

– Tom Wessels, author of Reading the Forested Landscape