Identifying those goals, along with community concerns and opportunities for service, are basic Sterling objectives. Above all, Sterling honors good, well-chosen, meaningful work. It teaches and celebrates overcoming obstacles, accomplishing the task at hand, and ending the day tired, but satisfied. Year Two Students complete their first-year with a well earned sense that they can make a positive difference in the world and understand what it means to be part of a community that honors service and meaningful work. The second year helps students, especially those interested in careers that relate to natural resources and the environment, learn how and where they can begin to make their own contributions.
Courses focus on social, economic, and ecological consequences of management decisions.
Considering the use and protection of environmental resources, students and faculty explore the unique perspectives of a land-use planner, the ecological economist, the public lands manager, the environmental educator, the field researcher, and the private business manager. At the completion of the first two years, students who have earned a minimum of 60 semester hours of credit and who have met the graduation requirements outlined in the Catalog will be eligible for the Associate of Arts Degree in Natural Resource Management. The third year of study includes options away from Craftsbury Common and permits students the opportunity to take courses not offered at Sterling that are important for work in their area of concentration. Students can enroll in the colleges Southwest Field Program, study overseas, or design a study specific to their needs and interests. They can also enroll or participate in an exchange semester at other colleges which offer courses relevant to their area of concentration.