Student Spotlight: Isaac '25

Outdoor trips have shaped him

For Isaac Sterling, some of the most profound lessons he has learned at CRMS were miles from the classroom and in some of the most remote and wild places. “Some of my favorite trips are the ones that were the hardest,” he says. From walking countless miles in Dirty Devil Spring, Utah his senior year to leading new students as a Wilderness Assistant Volunteer and waking up deep in the Elk Mountains to find his socks had frozen solid overnight. “I almost can’t speak to how much those outdoor trips change who you are or how much you learn,” says the 17-year-old senior from Denver, Colorado. “The bonds you form out there and the friendships I have made as a result are truly amazing.”

A dorm head and accomplished photographer who has also excelled academically, Isaac has become a vocal member of the community who is always looking for ways to acknowledge others and offer support. “Isaac is an amazing kid; he's always going above and beyond in every corner of the school,” says his advisor, Eliot Taft. “Isaac is three steps ahead in every regard, always thinking of his peers and wanting dorm life and community life to go as smoothly as possible. We are so lucky to have him with us.”

Isaac says CRMS has provided him with opportunities he wouldn’t have had in a large city public school, especially when it comes to his passion for photography. “I have been given so many ways to grow and find my passion. I’ve learned so much about who I am socially and how I function academically, and how to live independently from my parents,” he says. “CRMS has exceeded my expectations.”