An education takes a lifetime and is not obtained just by sitting in a classroom. Randolph embraces this philosophy by taking a week from formal instruction and giving its Middle and Upper School students time to explore the world.

For the ninth graders, the culmination of the Fine Arts program is the five-day trip to Chicago where they sample the visual delights of the Art Institute, compare the architectural influences of Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright, and enjoy the kinetic and colorful antics of The Blue Man Group.

The students in the higher grades are encouraged to take advantage of the many and varied opportunities offered during the week. About half of these students choose to go on one of the faculty-sponsored trips. These excursions change each year and have included a two-week immersion in a Spanish language program in Cuernavaca, a nine-day trip to Scotland and England, a week-long extreme camping and skiing challenge in the mountains of New Mexico, and a five-day Broadway show and drama workshop marathon.

Other students use this week to test the waters of the working world. Under the umbrella of the Career Exploration Program, many of these students work locally with physicians, architects, and small business enterprises. Some, however, use this week to go where the action is in their fields of interest; examples include a student who shadowed a talent scout in Los Angeles, another who explored the fashion design community in New York, and yet another who managed to find his way to the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade.

Community Service is the focus for many of the remaining students. This past year, a large group traveled to Taos to build houses while some stayed in town and worked for The Green Team, planting spring flowers and cleaning up inner city neighborhoods. And finally, some students choose to stay on campus and explore interests such as rocketry and classical music.

Regardless of the type of adventure chosen, all students are asked to keep daily journals and write an essay detailing the lessons learned. This valuable information serves as a way to share the experiences and also as a medium for evaluation and improvement of an ever-evolving program.