Palmer grad exploring, learning as he goes

PALMER — Dunedin Strickland admits he has sort of a contradictory opinion regarding education and the importance of academics in high school.

Strickland, a 2010 graduate of Palmer High School, understands the role of the lessons in the classroom setting. He thrived there, earning a 4.254 grade point average at Palmer. But he also realizes there is more to learn in life than what’s found in textbooks.

Strickland is actually on his own quest for knowledge, learning about new cultures while making his way through South America.

“I think the thing to remember is that academics serve (to) play the important role of preparing you for life, but there’s no substitute for the real thing,” Strickland said by e-mail from Puerto Lopez, Ecuador.

Strickland is enjoying a new adventure and search for knowledge, and at Palmer High, he was a top student and athlete.

As a senior, Strickland was a region champion cross country skier and member of the varsity soccer team, all while carrying a rigorous academic load. For his efforts, Strickland has been named a 2010 Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman Student-Athlete of the Year.

“He’s a great guy, just incredibly intelligent,” said former Palmer cross country ski mentor Darin Markwardt, who coached Strickland for four years. “He’s outgoing, an incredibly hard worker. During races he was the most mentally tough kid I’ve ever coached.”

Markwardt stepped away from coaching at the end of the 2009-10 season to attend law school, but the paths of the former coach and athlete crossed earlier this year. Strickland’s post-high school adventure started with a bicycle trip out of Alaska, down the Alaska Highway and the West Coast to Southern California. Along the way, he stopped to see Markwardt in Oregon.

“The guy’s so brilliant,” Markwardt said. “I’d talk to him about law school concepts and he’d get it within a couple minutes.”

Strickland left in late August, hitting snow and ice along the way.

“I was a little bit burnt out on the academic form of learning by the end of my senior year and I was dying for a change of horizons,” Strickland said in his e-mail. “I really enjoy biking and the pace of travel with it. The world seen from the seat of a bike is a very vivid one.”

Strickland said he chose Ecuador as a destination for a few reasons. He already speaks fluent French and Italian, but wanted to add another language.

“I really wanted to learn Spanish and felt that South America, for all its proximity, is really a continent we don’t know much about,” Strickland said.

Strickland’s experiences have led him to form that somewhat contradictory view of education.

“Education is something that I feel is grossly undervalued here in America,” said Strickland, who lived with his family in France for eight years and Italy for a year.

Some may take education for granted, he said.

“Out of my freshman class of something like 330 students, only about 180 walked across the stage with me. That is a tragedy,” Strickland said.

Strickland was one who took advantage of the academic opportunities offered by Palmer High. He was an International Baccalaureate student, taking six IB classes during his junior year and five more as a senior. He also took a pair of advanced placement physics classes.

“At times I regretted doing the IB program — I think there was one particular occasion when I stayed up for something like three nights in a row finishing some paper — but in the end I think it was worth it,” Strickland said. “There’s nothing that I wouldn’t do over again, at least as far as sports and academics are concerned at least.”

The extra work paid off. Strickland scored 43 of a possible 45 on the IB Diploma test. With a high enough score, some colleges will allow students to graduate after three years. Strickland posted the highest score ever in Alaska.

Strickland lists his senior season of skiing among his most fond memories of his time at Palmer.

“What comes to mind is the culmination of my senior skiing career, which was so meaningful on so many levels,” Strickland said. “Last year’s season was the last season for, I think, six out of the top eight guys on our team, a similar number for the girls team, and our head coach — Darin’s — last season coaching, too. As a team we felt like we really had been building toward something throughout high school and then to see our hard work finally pay off in the form of a region banner was really rewarding.”

Strickland and the Moose won a Region III boys state title. He also won an individual title in the skate.

Strickland’s plans for the future are not quite set. Markwardt said he’s urging Strickland to pursue law and ski in college.

“I’ll probably go to college next fall somewhere on the East Coast, though I am not sure exactly what for,” Strickland said. “Maybe physics or philosophy, or psychology or economics.

“I’m also set on becoming a concert pianist, writing the next great novel and building a wooden boat to sail around the world. I might finally settle down on a vineyard nestled in the familiar hills of my childhood around Bassano del Grappa, where I can spend my last days sharing expensive wines with a beautiful Brazilian named Amparo,” Strickland cleverly wrote.

In the meantime, Strickland will take the next few months to travel South America, learning as he goes.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.