Jing O’Brien graduated from Wrangell High School “in a class of 25 kids, which is a big class for Wrangell.”
She said her hometown is a place with “strong emphasis on community, where people have really supported me in so many endeavors.” Before she came to Sitka, she worked at “a bear observatory –– about an hour boat ride away from Wrangell –– where there are wild black and brown bears and my job is to teach tourists Bear Etiquette.”
Jing’s interest in Outer Coast stemmed from a dearth of opportunities for quality higher education in Alaska:
“There is a lack of options in Alaska, and there are so few opportunities like Outer Coast here. There are Alaskan students who can benefit from a liberal arts focus, but the state is losing those students because we don’t have the resources to support them. I have tons of friends who wanted to go to a liberal arts college but never even thought of staying in Alaska. As Outer Coast grows it can really benefit Alaskan students in that way.”
While at Outer Coast, Jing was eager to focus on her own learning and set herself up for success in college.
“[I wanted to] focus on loving learning. You can slide through high school by just passing your classes, but Outer Coast forces you to get outside of your comfort zone.”
“I didn’t see a lot of difference of opinions in my leadership roles in school. Going into Outer Coast I want to face disagreement, and I want to learn from it. [The Year] will force tons of different people from different backgrounds to become team members.”
Even before arriving at Outer Coast, Jing was confident that she would go to college after the Year, and wanted to enter the rest of her higher education journey with an expansive view of who she could be.
“I think Outer Coast will help me in a way that college might not have right away by giving me the time and resources to explore what I want out of college. And that’s why I’m seeking an in-person experience –– with peers and teachers that I can talk to in order to get direction and go into college confident that I am spending the money on something I want –– and I think that Outer Coast is the very best option for that. It will push me and give me a taste of what college is like.”
After nine months at Outer Coast, Jing was ready to take her next step to a four-year institution. She is now a student at Pomona College in Claremont, CA studying Public Policy and Economics.