Journalist, author, and backcountry park ranger Ken Ilgunas spoke to Merle-Smith Campus students on October 20, 2021. 

Ken Ilgunas is the author of several memoirs, including Trespassing Across America, an account of his 1,700-mile hike along the route of the Keystone XL pipeline. 

After sharing his story with students during assemblies in Dyer Auditorium, Ilgunas offered advice for aspiring writers and adventurers alike. 

"There's the university and the universe, " he says. "All the schools we go to that we're either required or encouraged to enroll in. Then there's the universe, which is absolutely everything outside of the university. And I think you kind of need both to have a full education."

He continues, "I've benefited so much from the formal schooling I have, whether it was in high school, all the way up to graduate school, but I've also benefited so much from the experiences I've had in the cockpit and outside the classroom, whether that's hiking across America, walking across the Great Plains, living in my van, being in the Alaskan wild, and interacting with all sorts of folks along the way."

When asked if he has writing advice for Moravian Academy students, Ilgunas says that the key is to "create conditions for yourself to write in the most honest and uncensored way possible." And, of course, he adds that reading widely and writing consistently are important, too. 

Moravian Academy thanks Ilgunas for inspiring our learners to go on their own adventures!