Alyssa Walker

Are you ready? It’s here--the meditative swish of classic skis in fresh tracks, clomping around on snowshoes, the squeak of skate skis on perfect corduroy, or getting lost in ungroomed stuff on fat bike tires or metal-edged skis. Whatever your preference, Ian Cullison, Waterville Valley’s Adventure Center Director, is excited to help you find your winter groove.
This year, the Adventure Center boasts its usual palette of fun winter options--snowshoeing, skiing, and fat biking--with a new twis...

Walk into Waterville Valley’s newly reopened Jugtown Country Store in the Town Square and you’ll feel like you’re home. There are festive decorations, great coffee, fresh veggies, and new locally-sourced products like maple syrup.
High school sweethearts Barb and Tom Prendergast dreamed of owning a country store for decades and now it’s official--they’ve bought the Jugtown Country Store!
“We want people to feel good when they come in,” says Barb. “We want it to be a place where people know yo...

If you’re a classroom teacher and you teach part-time VLACS students, read on.
VLACS and the classroom go hand in hand, especially when it comes to incorporating VLACS’s career-related opportunities in the classroom.
When VLACS began over a decade ago, an invisible rift opened: classroom teachers at brick and mortar schools often viewed part-time VLACS students and their VLACS experiences as separate from the classroom. VLACS happened “over there.” While students in traditional school setting...

Welcome to Stick Season! The leaves have fallen and we *can* see the forest through the trees. It’s colder. It’s wetter. It’s time to simmer soup in the crockpot, bust out the wool socks, light a candle, curl up with a good book, look up the word “hygge,” and better yet, learn how to pronounce it. (Hint: it’s “hyoo-guh”). Welcome to November!
November is a great time to visit Waterville Valley! No, you’re not going to socialize and skitter down perfect corduroy -- don’t worry, though, that’s ...

Walk into Waterville Valley’s newly reopened Jugtown Country Store in the Town Square and you’ll feel like you’re home. There are festive decorations, great coffee, fresh veggies, and new locally-sourced products like maple syrup.
High school sweethearts Barb and Tom Prendergast dreamed of owning a country store for decades and now it’s official--they’ve bought the Jugtown Country Store!
“We want people to feel good when they come in,” says Barb. “We want it to be a place where people know yo...

There’s a Scientific Reason That You’ll “Fall” In Love With Waterville Valley
It’s not just the colors. It’s not just the views. It’s more.
It’s the experience of the time and place and the people here in the town at the end of the road that make those colors in the mountains shimmer and pop that much brighter.
Jan and Harry Stearns moved to Waterville Valley in 1981 and never left.
Jan said, “Our previous visits to Waterville Valley were in winter to ski on Mt. Tecumseh's famed slopes. We mo...

Planning a family trip to Waterville Valley this summer? You’re in good company, and with good reason--Waterville Valley is not just a winter destination. There are at least a zillion things you can do in the summer from all-out extreme sports to lazing by the pond. I talked with April Smith, Director of Lodging and Village Operations for Waterville Valley to get a few more ideas. Here’s what she had to say.
While Waterville Valley has great family hiking options like the Mad River Trail, Goo...

“Some groups are more social,” says Sarah Salivonchik, the general manager of Waterville Valley’s Valley Inn. “Others bring an instructor and run classes to teach technique.”
She’s not talking about a ski clinic, a mountain biking class, or any other outdoor pursuit for which Waterville Valley is known. She’s explaining the Valley’s 20-year history of hosting quilters from across New England.
Turns out, Waterville Valley is a quilter’s paradise.
Of all the things quintessential about New Engl...

“Hello! So glad you found the Zoom link for our welcome call! Welcome to VLACS! Is that your Dad I see waving in the background?”
“Hi! Yes, that’s my Dad.”
“Great! Let’s get started! I’m your Spanish 1 teacher and I can’t wait to work with you and your family. Do you have any questions before we get started?”
So begins the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School (VLACS) welcome call, the signature event that kicks off every student’s VLACS experience.
New Situations
New situations with new pe...

Tuition fees at England's universities may be cut to £6,500, but with much higher fees up to £13,500 or about $17,500 in some subjects like medicine and science.
Why now? May has faced increasing political pressure to lower the cost burden on students, partly as a result of pledges from Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
While many students and prospective students will celebrate the news, and understandably so, the decision has not been made yet -- and the move is also perhaps a bit more com...

Cyprus' cabinet recently approved a new national research and innovation council to promote research and entrepreneurship, according to the Cyprus Mail.
Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said, "The phase the Cypriot economy is in today, having faced the most pressing consequences of the [financial] crisis, what matters is the expansion of the productive base and today’s decisions serve this purpose."
Former health minister Professor Philippos Patsalis will chair the council.
The new National...

If you are into fashion and business, the multibillion dollar industry of fashion management is the path for you. Fashion marketing managers have the huge yet exciting task of overseeing the branding, advertising, and consumer reactions to marketing campaigns and fashion products.
It takes more than a passion for fashion to make it in the business. It takes high levels of acuity, patience, vision, development, and strategy.
Let's take a closer look at what you need for success in the fashion ...

If you are contemplating grad school, why not study abroad?
In addition to all of the study abroad perks you'll experience, you'll have the added benefit of a degree already behind you.
Ready to travel and study some more? Here are six reasons to consider studying abroad for your graduate work.
You'll experience study abroad perks
We've said it before and we'll say it again: the benefits of studying abroad outweigh the drawbacks. You will explore a new culture, possibly expand your language a...

Talk about innovative teaching -- MBA students will soon attend lectures from holograms.
In the UK, the Future of Management Education Alliance, a group of six highly ranked business schools, wants to engage students through a new digital teaching platform.
Imperial College Business School will adopt holograms for its MBA classes. It aims to share academics among the six schools more efficiently and to improve video conferencing.
According to a recent article in Financial Times, David Lefevre...

Your next professor could be a robot!
Bina48 successfully passed a college philosophy class last year and recently co-taught one at West Point.
She was designed to mimic a real person, complete with a mind of her own.
In a recent article in Axios, William Barry, a West Point professor who had used Bina48 for many years, wanted to see if Bina48 could "support a liberal education model."
She taught two sessions of an introduction to ethics philosophy course in which she covered ethical reasonin...