Experiential Education

A group of students and instructors hike single-file with heavy backpacks through a grassy mountain meadow.

Experiential Education

From annual orientation camping trips beginning in 7th grade to a capstone rafting trip in Utah for graduating seniors, Prep students deepen their relationship with peers and faculty leaders and appreciate the vastness of the Southwest through outdoor education opportunities.

Equally valuable is our students' understanding of their impact within our broader community. Through bi-weekly dedicated service days and a robust, culminating Senior Internship Project, students provide support for over 30 local organizations and forge meaningful connections with each other and within the community.
 

Two students sit side by side on a stone ledge working together on an outdoor project in front of an adobe building.
  • 30 unique local community partnerships
  • 8000 Service hours annually
  • 6 annual orientation camping trips
A large group of students sits gathered on a rocky ridge overlooking a expansive mountain landscape under a partly cloudy sky.

Outdoor Programs

A large group of students sits gathered on a rocky ridge overlooking a expansive mountain landscape under a partly cloudy sky.

Outdoor Programs

The hands-on experience of spending time outside with peers and trusted faculty leaders is a crucial part of our students’ education. Developing an appreciation for the beauty and tranquility of the Southwest is also key to understanding a sense of place. The challenges of camping make our students more resilient and adaptable in all aspects of their lives.

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A young woman crouches on a tiled floor to pet a medium-sized brown dog lying on its back.

Service Learning

A young woman crouches on a tiled floor to pet a medium-sized brown dog lying on its back.

Service Learning

Our Teen Action Program (TAP) strives to address real community needs while inspiring our students’ commitment to social responsibility, community engagement, leadership, and personal discovery.  Working with over 30 local partners, our students collectively provide more than 6000 hours of community service in and around Santa Fe every year. Twice a month, students complete a half day of classes and then are deployed throughout the city at elementary schools, senior centers, parks, food pantries, and numerous other locations.

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A student operates specialized equipment with a metal bowl in a workshop setting.

Senior Internship Program

A student operates specialized equipment with a metal bowl in a workshop setting.

Senior Internship Project

The Senior Teen Action Program and Senior Internship Project (Senior TAP/SIP) is Santa Fe Prep’s signature capstone experience, designed by students by the end of their junior year. Through a self-crafted guiding question, seniors spend more than 120 hours examining the complexities of their chosen topic. Students connect their education to real-world impact—engaging meaningfully with their community, exploring possible futures, and putting their skills, curiosity, and values into action.

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What are you prepared for?

Our Experiential Education programs take learning out of the classroom, where outdoor experiences, community engagement,
and individualized internships allow students to discover skills, passions, and self-confidence.

Overhead view of two people leaning over a large topographical trail map stretched across a surface outdoors.

Prepared for Challenge
Outdoor Education 
 

Overhead view of two people leaning over a large topographical trail map stretched across a surface outdoors.

Gabriel Bleichmar ‘27

“I really loved the backpacking trip at the start of junior year. The trip helped me learn new skills, like navigation tricks and different ways to be more capable and confident in the outdoors. It was also a really great community bonding experience. I got much closer with some of my friends and with people who I wasn't friends with beforehand. Now I'm a lot closer with everyone because of that trip.” 

 

Volunteers in hard hats lift a large plywood panel on a building construction site.

Prepared to Contribute
Teen Action Program
 

Volunteers in hard hats lift a large plywood panel on a building construction site.

Amado McWilliams ‘29

“I feel like the best part of TAP is actually going out into public and reaching people directly rather than doing something here at school, rather than doing something at school that might not reach the community. My favorite part of TAP is actually getting to meet people, talking to them, and helping them directly.”

A volunteer wearing a blue apron walks a dog on a leash along a dirt trail outdoors.

Prepared for What's Next
Senior Internship Project
 

A volunteer wearing a blue apron walks a dog on a leash along a dirt trail outdoors.

Helen Marlow '26


“I did my SIP with the Historic Santa Fe Foundation. I'm a big history person, so I feel like history is really important. My favorite thing we did was rebuild a stucco wall in the traditional method, which they do annually, and it's been like that for at least 50 years. It was a hands-on experience and I see a lot of value in that. I also worked in the archives of the museum, so it's interesting seeing the stories and histories that remain important to Santa Fe. It can be easy to see the past as the past, but it really interested me to see how the past is alive in today's world and how it affects our community.”

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