Freshman counselor Lawton Stephens stands at Lost Creek Wilderness in Colorado’s Pike National Forest in 2014. Stephens led a group of teens transitioning out of the juvenile justice system on a few mountain hikes in order to help them gain a wider perspective on their lives. “It definitely confirmed that I wanted to work with young people,” Stephens said. “Just the enthusiasm and the joy and sense of adventure and being open to exploration and new experiences, and kind of being excited by those things is invigorating to me.” Photo courtesy of Lawton Stephens
The ODYSSEY Media Group will provide viewers with stylized profiles that center on people in the Athens community telling their own stories.
Freshman counselor Lawton Stephens discovered his passion for working with young people from leading teen mountain hiking trips of self-discovery.
Lawton Stephens eagerly awaits the imminent shift in perspective as the teens pour out of their van onto the huge Colorado mountain range ahead of them.
He senses their awe of the grand landscapes and fresh air as the teens become isolated from the strains of everyday lives.
Stephens worked as a primary care counselor for the Dale House Project in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2013 for teens transitioning from the juvenile justice system.
“It is easy to become ‘stuck’ in certain narratives or beliefs about ourselves, making it difficult to see other perspectives, or interpret our experiences in more helpful ways,”
— Lawton Stephens,
Freshman counselor
A few times during his time there, he led a group of several teens on a mountain climbing trip. The end goal was twofold — to climb to the top of a 14er, and along the way, help teens form a broader perspective on their lives back home.
With a drastic shift in environment — so open, isolated and infinite — Stephens channels the hiking experience into an opportunity for each individual to hone a more robust perspective of themselves to bring back home.
“It is easy to become ‘stuck’ in certain narratives or beliefs about ourselves, making it difficult to see other perspectives, or interpret our experiences in more helpful ways,” Stephens said.
From the top of the mountain, Stephens shows the teens a perspective from which there’s nothing they can’t see.
Freshman counselor Lawton Stephens poses outside of the CCHS Ceremonial Entrance on Sept. 24. Stephens enjoyed the opportunity to help teens grow a new perspective through hikes in Colorado with the Dale House Project, which helps teens transitioning out of the juvenile justice system. “It’s important to note that these new interpretations/perspectives are not a denial of any objective truth about one’s experience — many students I have worked with have experienced very real loss, trauma, and pain,” Stephens said. “The task then is to acknowledge and respect these experiences while exploring new ways of relating to them.” Photo by Audrey Enghauser
From the top of the mountain, he sees the teens’ eyes light with satisfaction and smiles overflow with accomplishment.
From the top of the mountain, exhilarated by this new altitude of change he has instilled, Stephens is ready for the next climb: Clarke Central High School freshman.
“My goal in working with students at CCHS is to listen deeply enough to pick up on threads of hope, possibility, and life in the midst of each student’s narrative, and to draw attention to it,” Stephens said.
