For me, The Evergreen State College was going to be a magical transmutation machine. I would go in with undirected passion and a can-do attitude, and come out with a clear set of goals, connections to get me there, and probably a head of dreadlocks. At the end of my first year taking classes in Olympia, I think that the college has done its job, transmutation complete.

I came to Evergreen wanting to become an educator, but education is a broad term. In the last nine months, I have worked in a kindergarten class at a local elementary school. I have led friends on adventures into the Evergreen forest and into the surrounding mountains. Each day has left me more sure of my path.

Spring quarter, I walked across Spain, from Irun to Finisterra, a distance of over 900 kilometers. Almost every night I slept in Albergues run by volunteers, some former pilgrims themselves. One evening I arrived in a tiny beach town not long before dark. I had walked two stages that day, passing through several major cities and places to stay. When I reached the last albergue for another four hours walk, a sign posted clearly on the door read “FULL” in three different languages. In spite of their full house, the pair of hospitaleros welcomed me. They made space for an extra bed, made space around the table for a home-cooked meal, and made room in their busy schedules to show us pilgrims a beautiful sunset, and talk with me for hours about their work. I left the next morning with two warm hugs, an e-mail address, and an offer to be a hospitalero myself in the coming years.

I learned two very important things on my walk; that anyone can warm the hearts and make a difference in the lives of complete strangers, and that education and learning more often occurs out in this great big world than it does in a mediated classroom. El Camino de Santiago has not only changed my direction, but also clarified my goals. I will be leaving Evergreen, to pursue a degree in Outdoor Education and Therapy at Western Washington University. There I can combine my passion for the outdoors with giving to others. I also plan on taking up those two hospitaleros on their offer, so that I may give something back to the Way that gave so much to me.

Even if my path is not through the Red Square for the next three years, I found it there. I would not be here, in Europe, living through the most adventurous time of my life, had it not been for the Evergreen State College, but I no longer need to “figure it out”. Transmutation complete.