Thea LaMastra

Class Year '24

I grew up in rural Pennsylvania with 4 siblings. Everything about my upbringing has shaped me into the person that I am today, and I wouldn’t change one thing about it! My educational background includes a small private church school, homeschooling, public school, and dual enrollment at a community college. My homeschooling experience came at a very critical point in my life. It allowed me to explore and study things that interested me, it saved me from feeling suffocated in school, and led to my first trip out of the country which transformed my life in ways words can not explain. I get very restless and frustrated with school, but I love to learn, so COA gives me a perfect balance of freedom and structure to continue learning about all of the things that fascinate me. I feel the need to fill my life to the brim and get involved, so during high school at the local public school I became very involved in FFA (an agriculture education program) and I also got involved in projects with the honors society at the community college that I took classes at. I am excited to see what kinds of life adventures COA leads me to!!!

Getting here:

I first found COA in a book called Treasure Schools: America’s College Gems. I was looking for a college that was going to give me more than just a degree. Because of its two farms, academic structure, location and community, COA stayed at the top of my (extremely long) list as I narrowed down my options. In the end it was one of two colleges I applied to, (the other was Penn State) and I knew that if I got in, COA was hands down where I belonged.

Classes

Acadia: Exploring the National Park Idea

College Seminar: Utopia/Dystopia

Human Ecology Core Course

Favorite class:

The Acadia class has been my favorite class so far. It has been the most hands on class this term and I really enjoy that. We get to use Acadia as our classroom every Friday spending 3 hours hiking, talking to, and working along with national park professionals. Getting an extremely in-depth, interdisciplinary orientation of the place you are going to school. Plus one of the assignments is going to a journaling place in the park which I feel slightly guilty that I enjoy my class assignment so much.

My approach to human ecology:

Agriculture + Community + Business + Policy + Sustainability = Human Ecology

Human Ecology to me is a way for you to study the things that you want to in a way that puts the pieces together in a way that makes sense to you. You can study science but use art to explain your findings. The world is all one thing and everything is related. Each and every issue is connected to something else and can in part be explained by the other aspects. In fact you need to study all aspects of something to be able to really get to the root of the issue.

Life on Mount Desert Island:

Acadia is literally your backyard, so I highly suggest exploring. Hike, bike, swim, go find out about this amazing national treasure of a place that you get to live and go to school at. Plus I think that the hiking/camping trips every weekend have been essential for me to get a mental recharge that keeps me going with my class work during the week. This is especially true in a year where most activities are limited due to COVID-19.

Also Jordan Pond Ice Cream in Bar Harbor is definitely worth it :)

Activities, traditions, celebrations:

Being able to go barefoot everywhere on campus. Hanging out on the Seafox porch. Weekly hiking/camping trips with my housemates. Going to the Italian language table, even though I don’t know how to speak Italian, because I want to learn. Going swimming in Frenchman Bay when it is really way too cold to go swimming.

Passions & motivations:

Urban Agriculture

Adventures yet to come:

Hike the AT barefoot with a goat (maybe without the goat due to logistical reasons but still hike the whole thing barefoot). Travel the world. Like literally everywhere. Help to empower people with healthy sustainable food options.

During my time at COA I hope to: do an EcoLeague exchange at Prescott College and/or Alaska Pacific University, Work on Beech Hill Farm, Go to Mount Desert Rock, Hike every peak in Acadia, (and maybe even learn to sail?) Really I just want to do everything. And remember to have fun and love life!

Best meal on campus:

Tortellini

COA might be the right college for you if...

You have never been satisfied with traditional school systems, and are looking for a way to structure your own education. If you are more interested in learning things than just earning a degree. Want to do everything, have many different interests, and want to combine them rather than have to choose between your interests.

Ephemera:

Cooking/dance parties in the kitchen

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

You can’t have one without the other.

It is kind of like human ecology in a nutshell (or should I say an eggshell) it’s a very interconnected issue, you have to look at the whole picture. It doesn’t work to break it down into separate parts of chicken and egg, they are just different stages of the same organism.

Students