The Origin Story

Lance and I literally met at the turn of the century. I’d just completed my first year at Agnes Scott College and Lance was a junior at Oglethorpe University. Interestingly enough, Oglethorpe was the only college I applied to other than Agnes Scott, so I like to say we were destined to meet. Our paths wouldn’t cross until summer 2000, however, when I decided to pursue a camp counselor position with Project Morry at Morry’s Camp in Glen Spey, New York. Lance had been a part of Project Morry for three years by the time I joined the party, and we’d end up working together for almost a decade. Project Morry is truly magical and life-changing that way.

It’s probably safe to say that Lance and I wouldn’t have considered ourselves the closest of friends our first couple of years working together. We were cordial, but there wasn’t anything to write home about. By 2004, we were well on our way to becoming the friends we are today with a shared passion for education, equity, authentic living, continual (un)learning, and justice. We lean into our differences as well - there are many! - and appreciate how they’ve been equally as important in allowing us to connect.

Perhaps that’s one of the strongest truths we have to share with people who enter conversations with us. Difference does not have to equal disconnect, distrust, or dismissal of other people, their ideas, their beliefs, and their lived realities. It’s not an earth-shattering or revolutionary idea, but it’s something that certainly bears re-emphasizing in this current era. Lance and I have two distinct perspectives and lived experiences navigating this world and look forward to this next decade of growth, learning, unlearning, and re-learning. Whether individually, together, at home, or in other places around the world (like a tram in Basel, Switzerland where we’re located in the picture attached to this post), we’re excited to continue writing our stories.