Most of the students in Beverly Mowrer's high school class have never been on a school field trip, let alone set foot on a 135-foot tall ship on Puget Sound.
"Yeah, I'm a little nervous," said 17-year-old Vito Tuilemoto.
They're setting sail in uncharted territory. The 20 or so students from the Highline School District are trying to save their futures, which have been taking on water for years.
"A lot of our kids are homeless throughout the year. Some are in the criminal justice system," said Mowrer. "They just don't fit in to other schools because they feel like they're not understood."
"I dropped out in ninth [grade], I droped out in tenth. After that, I don't know what grade I'm in no more," said Dshawn Harrell. Dshawn now has a baby boy on the way with his girlfriend Audreona. He promised his grandmother on her deathbed that he'd be a man and take care of his family.
The couple enrolled in New Start High School for at-risk youth. They take classes that push them from their comfort zones. This one is aboard the schooner Adventuress. The students learn to sail the ship through Elliott Bay. For the couple, both afraid of the water, it's the last place either of them wants to be.
"I'm feeling kind of weird," said Audreona.
"My heart is racing and my feet feel wobbly," added Dshawn.
But after a while, Dshawn starts bonding with the ship's captain. They talk about the captain's 2-year-old daughter, and suddenly, almost without even knowing it, Dshawn took the wheel, piloting the massive sail boat.
"Wow! That's cool!" he shouted, like a boy riding his first bike. "I'm driving a boat! This is cool! I'm driving the Adventuress!"
Dshawn faced down his fear of the sea. Gripping the wheel firmly, a smile across his face, he thinks of his other fears he must conquer, of fatherhood, and then of his newfound dreams.
"I'm gonna support my woman and support my child. I want my diploma and a successful job. And I'm gonna get me a boat, too. Teach my son to fish. We're gonna all take trips together," he said.
The program is called Sound Explorations and it's run by the non-profit Sound Experience which works to empower youth through outdoor adventures. You can find out more by visiting www.29dollars.org and www.soundexp.org
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