Millinocket Reimagined

Kenzie Friel | KROC Intern

Hey all! My name is Mackenzie Friel and through OSI I was the Katahdin Region Outdoor Collective (KROC) intern this summer. I am a Millinocket local, but I currently go to school in northern Michigan. I came back this summer to intern with KROC and it was epic! Before this summer, I did not see Millinocket through this lens; I saw it as a place to grow up in and move away from, I have never wanted to stay in Millinocket. I had always loved certain aspects of our area, but the experiences I got this summer gave me a new appreciation of my hometown.

Reflecting on my time spent with KROC and OSI this summer brings a specific lesson to mind. One of my professors at school starts each new year out with his Ubuntu principal. Ubuntu is a South African concept that means “I am because we are.” He does this each year to highlight the importance of the strength that comes with a collective.

The KROC team, including the student participants, embraced the power of the collective. Whether it was through campsite responsibilities like cleaning up after a meal or pumping up duckies to bring down the rapids, the kids were always ready to work with each other to make stuff happen!

KROC is a team of six organizations working toward the common goal of building community through outdoor sport; the success of programs this summer proves what can happen when we work together. The kids made bonds with each other, us, and beautiful connections to nature. It was awesome being able to witness students experience new feelings and see new places. Their joy and enthusiasm for everything was contagious. They may not know it but they imparted a new perspective of this region for me.

My whole life I have loved the outdoors but I have never appreciated my own backyard like this. There was one evening on the overnight paddling trip I went fishing with my coworker. As I sat in my boat in the middle of the river I could see my students on the shore. They were running around, their shadows dancing on the riverbank. Their laughter carried across the water to me and I realized these kids were forming memories and connections they will never lose. I felt grateful to have had similar outdoor opportunities which have turned into my passion for the outdoors.

Returning this summer truly has been a full circle moment. As a kid I used to drive to programs across the state with OSI. I always imagined how cool it would be to lead groups like this - but never thought I would do exactly that.

I could not have envisioned a better way to spend my break. For the longest time, actually my whole childhood, I wished for Millinocket to be a place with opportunities like KROC provides. I wanted so badly for my schoolmates to be able to learn to bike or canoe even if their family wasn’t like mine who spent a lot of time outdoors. I think it is the absolute coolest thing that I got to be a small part of this movement toward a more outdoor-centric and sustainable Millinocket.

There is so much to be said about my time this summer with KROC. It has been an adventurous, whimsical, love-filled summer. It is always a transition when summer turns to fall but for the first time, thinking about leaving for school in a couple weeks has really pulled on my heart. This internship has given me purpose this summer. I came back to the Ubuntu lesson; I became more adventurous and appreciative because the KROC kids were. Millinocket is becoming stronger because groups like KROC have begun to collaborate and tap into the power of the collective.