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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”—Margaret Mead, Cultural Anthropologist

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You can contact our Admission office directly at

802-586-7711 x100, or email [email protected].

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Spotted this morning. Hats off to the impending return of students! We are ten days away from arrival day!! 💜 #iykyk

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Jes Scribner '17 has taken the sustainability of small-scale agriculture into her own hands or should we say she has put the opportunity to farm in other people's hands. She owns @birdhous_ , a 49-acre property in Barton, Vermont that operates as a co-working landscape for inspired young farmers, creatives, and land-based entrepreneurs. Jes leans into the vision herself and operates her own company, VT Pierogi, out of the space as part of her business model. @vtpierogi Learn more at https://www.birdhous.org

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After a long day on the farm, creemees with friends.

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Part 2 of 2 :

Through EcoGather, Sterling College has created a series of five online courses – Showing up for Change, Communities of Care, Culture, Coalition and Movement Building, Empathy as a Force for Social Good, and Story Justice – that offer what is most needed now and what will carry us through. These courses enliven community and movement building by setting context, teaching history and theory, and providing the tools, skills, and mindsets that community and movement building change-shapers need to deepen their practice.

Across these courses, author, speaker, and storytelling consultant Michelle Auerbach compiles and shares insights she developed through decades of movement work. But hers is far from the only perspective on offer. An all-star cast of good troublemakers – organizers, activists, mentors and teachers – who have made their mark and reflected on what it takes to shape change lend their voices and diverse perspectives. Link on bio.

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Part 1 of 2 :

Over the years, communities of resistance have shaped and propelled countless movements for progressive and sometimes transformational social and political change. These movements have been a source of immeasurable good, contributing significantly to changing narratives, inspiring action, and offering hope. Right now, humans are:

-Reeling from a deadly (and still active) pandemic,
existentially threatened by a climate crisis of our own making,
and reckoning with centuries of brutal treatment of people in the global majority;

-Grieving through continual warfare and mass violence,
grappling with technologies that hijack our attention and construct alternate reality;

-Polarizing politically and becoming ever more estranged from each other, and

-Witnessing the abuse of power, erosion of integrity, narrowing of rights, and deterioration of democracy, often under minoritarian rule.

As we try to make sense of this difficult moment and navigate its myriad challenges, we could use some inspiration – as well as heaps of context and lots of new skills.

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Stories make change possible. This is true for individuals, organizations, and communities. Because the stories we tell can either narrow or expand the space for change, narrative strategy is a potent strategy for social and environmental justice. Narrative interventions give both somatic and intellectual power to the information people need to make change.

In the new Continuing Education class, Story Justice, you will engage with narrative tools to shift minds and behaviors. You need not be a gifted or voracious reader to become an effective user of story strategy. You will be presented with insights from neuroscience, trauma theory, change management, communications theory, organizational psychology, and emergent strategy through hands-on practice, case stories, media, and real world experimentation. These insights will make it much easier to engage successfully with stakeholders across policy, management, industry, citizen groups, and in educational settings. Learners will come away ready to apply the empathic skills environmental, food systems, and social changemakers need to communicate across differences in identity, world view, and lived experience. You will gain confidence in operating more effectively under conditions of socio-political polarization and in breaking stalemates on matters of eco-social concern.

More info: link on bio.

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Reginald Hubbard, political operative who supports activist wellness through yoga and Buddhism, is one of the many guest troublemakers you will hear from in the Change Shaping: Connection-based Training for Good Trouble Makers Certificate Program. https://www.ce.sterlingcollege.edu/change

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Research into pro-social change – the kind that improves the world around us – all leads to empathy as the most powerful force for connection, community building, human understanding, and change. The Empathy as a Force for Social Change course delves deep into the ways empathy can create the world we want to inhabit. We will explore points of view on how empathy changes politics, impacts movements, creates a space for quantitative data-based knowledge acquisition, and makes us better change makers.

In this online course, you will learn about how empathy works, find it in action around values, understand polarization, and work on the skills of intellectual humility and attunement to make possible the changes we need.

Register: link in bio.

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The Consulting Archaeological Program from the University of Vermont were on campus today digging into the history of the former Paradise Hall as part of the Act 250 process. This process helps folks like us determine which historical buildings are preserved and which ones can be renovated or repurposed. In the case of Paradise, we would like this to be the future home of the Peter Alfond Wellness Center.

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If you find yourself full of the rage that follows on the heels of injustice, the urgency emitted by crisis, or the roiling uncertainty of collapse, these tunes will help. They’ll connect you to the energy, impulses and endurance of eclectic change shapers of the recent past. They might even remind you that it is really possible to mount more than just reactionary, reductive, rule-oriented, and performative responses to the wrongs all around us. Good music does wonders for connecting us back up when we are dysregulated — brains, hearts and bodies all get something from these grooves and find a way to dance. Change Shaping is embodied work — so let the beat move you. Let it help us all move together. Playlist link on bio.

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To move forward strategically, it is important to understand the historical conditions that gave rise to social change, coalition building and movements across the world. By exploring the individual strengths, weaknesses, tactics and strategies of coalitions and movements, we can more effectively support needed shifts in society.

In the Culture, Coalition, and Movement Building online course, you will encounter and implement strategies for (1) honoring and integrating with diverse peoples and cultures; (2) advancing equity for historically marginalized groups; and (3) navigating circumstances where #1 & #2 conflict. Course content will focus on knowledge gathering with and exchange across generations, gender roles and identities, religions/cultural groups, and social groupings/economic status. Case studies in this course span civil rights movements in the 20th century United States and contemporary food movements.

As you seek to rebalance power and shape change, you will also be able to balance deep respect for the past, empathy for those navigating an increasingly challenging present and volatile near-future, and caring attentiveness to the needs of future generations.

Register: link in bio.

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Thanks for your interest in Sterling!

Request information here and an admission counselor will be in touch with you soon!

You can contact our Admission office directly at

802-586-7711 x100, or email [email protected].

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