By Stephen Smoot
Kristen Beverage will readily admit that from childhood to her new adventure as director of Experience Learning her life has come full circle.
“My maternal grandparents have lived on Spruce my entire life,” she shared. Those grandparents, Harlan and Amanda Judy, taught her a generations-old reverence for the mountains, ridges, and valleys of Pendleton County. Countless hours of days spent on the Judy farm, or that of Annie Kisamore nearby, set her off on a boomerang path of adventures that brought her back.
Experience Learning’s campus operates about a mile or so from Beverage’s family’s farm. In a sense, that organization grew up right alongside her. “When Experience Learning was founded,” she explained, “my family was a first point of contact for people when it was established.” She shared how, despite the enormous cultural and worldview differences between the local families and organizational founders, they worked well together.
“Two very different worlds made an unlikely pairing.” Beverage explained.
Part of the origin involves a very West Virginia style of interaction. “Daniel Taylor, one of the first founders,” she recalled, “had car trouble on the mountain and pulled over to the side of the road near the Judy farm. Beverage stated that they came to him and invited him to “come on in” and “have a meal.”
Known then as the Woodlands Institute, Beverage remembers that “when I was a child, I was always going up to WI. It was always a magical place.”
Her work took her from her home region, but never out of the mountains. One of her first significant work experiences came as a county liaison with the United States Forest Service in Marlinton. This work gave her exposure to the policies and challenges of administering public lands and how they relate to local and state governments. She also served as director of the Snowshoe Foundation, bringing her into contact with the realms of fundraising, philanthropy, and awarding grants.
In addition to her professional experience, Beverage also earned a master’s degree at Future Generations University. She confessed, “I had no idea” that would help guide her to her current role.
Beverage saw the professional progression, in light of her newest responsibility, as “very serendipitous.” She explained that “I realize that all of my career experience has prepared me for this role.”
When Taylor decided to retire, Beverage already sat on the organizational board. She shared that when the announcement came that he would step down, a number of eyes turned to look in her direction as the next step in the organization’s evolution.
She describes the core of Experience Learning as connecting the natural environment with people who are not always accustomed to immersion in it. Part of that involves “building confidence with wild places.” It also teaches those who come and “want to be good stewards of nature.
“We do a great job of that,” she noted.
One of her main goals lies in building stronger connections between Experience Learning and Pendleton County communities. “You run into three types of people,” in relation to locals’ thoughts about Experience Learning. “They’ve heard of Experience Learning, but have never gone up there,” others have gone there and love the awe-inspiring beauty of the property, and the third group “has never heard of it.”
She describes the campus environment on the mountain as having “the most beautiful views,” and also as “peaceful” and “disconnected” from the noise of the modern world. One of her goals lies in “getting people up there to experience the magic of that property.”
One of the most direct ways to connect with the community started last year. Dr. King Seeger and others helped to create an educational partnership with West Virginia University Extension Service’s Energy Express program. It adds to the program offered statewide by Energy Express by bringing young people to educational experiences on Fridays, which are typically days that the students do not go to the program.
Another program of Experience Learning lies in the growing Sweetwater Trail Center for biking and hiking, which draws a number of tourists in during warm months.
Beverage shared that “at this point, I am open to working collaborations with anyone who supports our mission.”
