What changes does one undergo spending four months away from their parents, their school, technology, civilization, and their twin brother? Judging by Oscar Lu’s transformation, they run the gamut from physical to spiritual and social.
Oscar and his twin brother Victor came to Church Farm School as freshmen from California. Both standout students, Oscar’s quiet poise contrasts with Victor’s extroverted personality. Many did a double-take when Oscar — who spent the entire first semester at the High Mountain Institute (HMI) in Colorado — returned to campus in January, right before Victor was preparing to depart for his own semester-away experience at The Island School in the Bahamas.
He looked older, stronger, more confident. Oscar said his time away helped him discover sides of himself he wasn’t aware of before.
“I learned who I am when I’m without my brother,” he said. “I can make friends by myself. I can stand up for myself. I can say no to things. I don’t always have to be perfect. I’m funny. I’m spontaneous. I’m a good chef.”
Oscar is the third CFS student to attend HMI’s term-away program — open to high-achieving high school juniors and seniors. Both of his former CFS “big brothers,” Fayi Nshanji and Rafael Arellano, members of the Class of 2024, attended HMI during the 2022-2023 school year and raved about it to him.
Approximately 40 participants rotate between school at HMI — a full courseload of honors and AP classes — interspersed with 14-day backpacking expeditions where they completely disconnect from technology and embrace learning by doing. Oscar recalls waking up to frost on his sleeping bag, seeing mountain goats and moose, running 10 miles to conclude his semester, cliff-diving in Zion, hiking in a blizzard, and the thrill of summiting a mountain at sunrise.
The HMI campus is located in Leadville, Colorado, the highest incorporated town in the contiguous U.S. Oscar said four days of orientation (no advance skills are required) included learning how to set up a tent, make specific knots, distribute weight in a pack, troubleshoot a stove, and the fine art of conflict resolution, especially handy when you are thrown together with teenagers from all over the country.
The skill Oscar thrived at the most, cooking, also surprised him.
“I have always been good at baking because I follow directions, and everything is so precise,” he said. “But cooking isn’t like baking; I learned that a lot of it is creativity and putting ingredients together to make it work.”
Since returning from HMI, Oscar said he’s been “cheffing it up,” making fancy breakfasts and pasta sauces for his family and friends.
Due to the rigorous academic schedule — classes run from 8 AM to 5 PM daily and study hall ends at 9:15 PM, at which time laptops are turned in — Oscar said his time management has also grown exponentially. This will serve him well both at CFS and this summer, when he hopes to attend a summer program at either the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado, or MIT’s MITES program. Oscar will spend his second semester at CFS as the president of his class, living in the moment and using his newfound confidence to advocate for his classmates.
Learn more about how Church Farm School offers students hands-on, real-world learning experiences in classrooms, out in the surrounding community, and far beyond the school’s campus.
