Marisa Wesker

It’s difficult to describe to them the transformative experience Overland provides – for students and leaders. To me, as a leader and now a year-round team member, Overland is ephemeral; it is a feeling. It is the feeling of waking up in the early morning half-light in Yellowstone with nothing to hear but the birds and the sound of your own breath. It is huffing and sweating your way to the top of a 14,000-foot peak in the Sawatch Range of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, cresting the summit with eleven of your peers cheering you on, genuine love and excitement in their eyes. It is pure, uninterrupted joy. This is what brought me to Overland, and what brings our students to us from all over the world. It is the promise of an opportunity for growth, camaraderie, a challenge, and the chance to breathe fresher air and sink deeper into understanding oneself and others.

I have always drawn inspiration from walks in the woods, and I love being able to give students that same opportunity. I led Writing and Hiking New England in 2018 and Yellowstone Adventure the following year. Waking up to the Tetons as the mountains reflect the early morning light, seeing the sun rise on Yellowstone lake, and trekking our way to the top of 10,000-foot peaks, I fell in love with the big skies and thin air of the Rockies. I moved to Colorado after I graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana with a dual degree in Political Science and French.

While living in Colorado, I worked on an educational ranch near Rocky Mountain National Park – teaching middle school science – and I was also a ski and snowboard instructor. I now work on our admissions team in Williamstown. I’m thrilled to be part of Overland year-round and am so grateful for all Overland has given me.