Before you read on, how well do you know WatersheD’s Azilee? Take our quiz to find out!
Q&A with Azilee Ball
Question: Where are you from?
Azilee Ball: I live in Golden, Colorado and have been there my whole life.
Q: How many years have you been at Watershed?
ABl: This is my 4th year.
Q: Why did you choose to go to Watershed?
AB: My sibling found it and it sounded too awesome not to go.
Q: What have you been doing to help the staff get ready for this school year?
AB: I helped Pablo with food and gear prep for wilderness and just general support.
Q: Despite COVID, what was the best/most fun thing you did this summer?
AB: Surfing in Maine and backpacking and fly fishing with my Dad.
Q: What’s your favorite class/subject and why?
AB: Science; I have always loved science especially biology and chemistry. I love it because it answers so many of life’s questions and I find it fascinating to see how life works.
Q: What project (that you did at Watershed) are you most proud of and why?
AB: I did an independent study my junior year about microbiology. I was tasked with figuring out a complicated DNA and RNA extraction and reading lab. It was a lot of hard work and I ended up getting the results I wanted and teaching the 9/10 class.
Q: What was the best trip/expedition you went on and why?
AB: May term in Iceland! The group was amazing. The teachers were amazing. And Iceland is amazing. It’s a science-based course so I really was interested in the content. The teachers trusted the students so we gained freedom like hanging out with our friends and walking along the streets of Reykjavik.
Q: What are you most looking forward to about senior year (again, despite COVID!)?
AB: Just being able to be a part of the Watershed community for another year. I’m excited to go on trips and get to know the new students.
Q: What’s the best part of going to school at Watershed?
AB: The community always feels safe. And the teaching style, I get to learn about things that are happening in the world now and ponder on how to fix them. I can see firsthand these problems and understand how they affect people.
Q: What is your favorite non-school related activity and why?
AB: Skiing—I love the feeling of a good ski day. Just the euphoria that comes along with carving and groomers and floating above deep powder.
Also film photography. I really enjoy figuring out how old cameras work, shooting on them and then being in the dark room and printing photos.
Q: What are your plans after Watershed?
AB: If COVID has died down I want to go to College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. If COVID is still a big deal then I want to take a gap year and work on a farm or go on a NOLS trip.
Q: What’s one interesting/quirky/fun thing about you that most people don’t know?
AB: I am scared of ladybugs!
