The Lake Forest Academy Gala is a once-yearly event to gather community members to raise money for different causes. This year’s Gala was held on April 26 and raised money for experiential learning. In past years, the Gala had gone towards the athletic center expansion, raising money for the arts department and for building the health center. These three events were huge successes. However, LFA decided to steer away from physical expansions and renovations this year. While people may not be able to physically see a new building or renovation being built on campus, community members can see the impact this Gala will have on the students.

According to Gala Chair Julie Brandt, the committee starts planning for the Gala a year in advance, first considering what they will be raising money for.

This year, they landed on experiential learning, which covered four main buckets: academic clubs, experiential travel, grade-level retreats and field trips. For clubs, some students cannot join due to the expenses that come with participation. For example, robotics and Model UN are clubs that require additional costs. The money raised at the Gala would ensure that all students can participate, regardless of their financial situations. With this fundraiser, LFA hopes to have the funds to support every student in having an experiential travel opportunity during their four years at LFA.

Erin English, Director of Experiential Learning, emphasized that through traveling students are “being made to feel the uncomfortable heat or tough living conditions of a community, to experience the climate and the areas where environmental stewardship isn’t tended to and see the consequences of that…this brings to life the primacy of the importance of why we focus on learning these things.”

With this fund created from the Gala donations, students will be able to apply what they are learning in the classroom to real-world experiences. Students will have these opportunities by traveling in and out of the country and going on more field trips for each class.

English stated that, through having more money for field trips, “We want the opportunity for faculty to know that they can bring learning to life.”

Finally, the last part of the fund will be to create a retreat at the beginning of the year for all grade levels, instead of just for the freshmen and seniors. This will allow each grade to have more time to bond, especially with the numerous transfer students that each grade receives each year.

Brandt summed up this amazing gala theme in her favorite line of her speech, saying, “So please — raise that paddle and show your support. Because while our kids may not remember every quiz they ever took…they will never forget the trip that changed their perspective, the club that sparked a passion, or the retreat where they finally felt like they belonged.”