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To understand Sterling College you may have to suspend some of your ideas about college, about how people learn, and how communities function. There is no other college quite like Sterling College. Our environmental focus, commitment to experiential academics, and community is not for everyone, but it may be right for you.

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Arts on Campus

The number of art courses at Sterling College grows each year. Currently, the College offers fine art courses in Studio Art, Mural Arts, Drawing from Nature, Art Techniques, Black and White Photography, and Outdoor Photography. Fiber Arts explores historical and current day uses of natural fibers and teaches techniques for spinning yarn, producing cordage, knitting, felting, and weaving. In addition, two long standing courses continue to attract students. A Reverence for Wood, in which students learn woodworking techniques while constructing their own wood project, has produced tables, chests, canopy beds, surfboards, jewelry boxes, various musical instruments, and more. Traditional arts are explored through Forgotten Arts, in which students make primitive bow and arrow or snowshoes in the style of the Attikamek Indians of Quebec, beginning with felling a tree for the staves and preparing a deerskin for rawhide lacing.

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Dinner in the Dark: Student Raises Energy Awareness
By Paul Ferrari ‘06

Flickering candle light is bouncing off a circle of vague but familiar faces. Gazes are cast downward. With rounded shoulders and crooked necks, we sit, transfixed on our dinner plates. Fishing with our forks, we search for some recognizable piece of our supper. 

One student remarks, “I think an oil lamp would work well. An oil lamp would give off plenty of light.”

Another student comments, “I think these votive candles are meant more for ambiance. They don’t really throw off a lot of light.”  The circle of faces nods in agreement. 

All the while, several 250 watt incandescent light fixtures dangle overhead unlit; while some 75 people sit at large round tables quietly eating their supper. The tables resemble small islands of light in sea of dimly lit faces and chairs. However, there is no ice storm or hurricane that has left us without power. This is a purely voluntary act of collective self-denial, and somewhere among the candle light is the student who initiated this act.

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Course Description:

Diverse readings chronicling the power of individuals and groups who face physical hardship yet maintain or even enhance their basic humanity provide a basis for discussion and writing. Works include expedition histories, essays, survival sagas, diaries, and films illuminating people's quest for challenge, as well as their responses to adversity. Class discussions and written assignments focus on both content and style with the intent that students develop their appreciation of artistic quality as well as their insights into the human urge for challenge.

Partial Reading List:

Alexander, Caroline, Endurance
Davidson, Robyn, Tracks
Lansing, Alfred, Endurance
Markham, Beryl, West with the Night
St. Exupery, Antoine de, Wind, Sand, & Stars
Simpson, Joe, Touching the Void
Waterman, Jonathan, In the Shadow of Denali

"What I have enjoyed in “Triumphs” has been investigating with students how people manage to surmount such unbelievably difficult challenges, how those experiences change one’s view of self and the world, and what makes a compelling story that speaks to a broad audience and captures essentials of the human experience.  Each time I teach this course I get to re-live and re-examine the significance of challenge and adventure in my own life.  I am renewed by these books and films and our discussions.  Bring on the next Expedition!”  - Ned Houston