The Right Conditions to Grow

Seven Warriors Stories

The Right Conditions to Grow

Sent to friends of VVS on October 15, 2026

Dear VVS Community,

I can be hard on myself for being endlessly idealistic. In the default world, you get used to the quiet ache of feeling that the way things should be has been paved over by speed, abstraction, and optimization.

Then I walked onto the land at Verde Valley School and watched students work a farm that feeds their dining hall, tend a seed library, cross dirt trails worn in by years of walking, and make do with what’s on hand, down to an old school bus repurposed as a tool shed. Biology happens in creeks. Responsibility is formed in the backcountry. The land isn’t a backdrop for learning; it’s part of the curriculum. Relief and disbelief arrived at once, like finding an intact habitat in a clear-cut landscape.

A pang of jealousy followed. I wished my sons could have an education this demanding and whole. Then the envy gave way to something steadier. Like a seed on dry desert ground, VVS took hold against the odds and has kept growing for nearly eight decades. It proves that thriving human ecosystems are still possible, and that young people are cultivating one right now. It reminds me that idealism isn’t foolish. Sometimes it just needs the right conditions to grow.

I’m not an alum, a parent, or a trustee. I’m simply someone who noticed. Someone who recognized the significance of this place (you can read more of my reflections here). And a place that reveals this much asks something of the people who notice it. I believe the most important thing we can do now is raise the next generation of whole humans to navigate and steward a world in upheaval. VVS is doing that work. Helping it endure is how I answer.

With gratitude,

Joel Krieger
Experience Designer, Storyteller, Friend of VVS

“It reminds me that idealism isn’t foolish. Sometimes it just needs the right conditions to grow.”

Joel Krieger, Friend Warrior

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