The phone rang. It was the last of Carla’s friends backing out of the 6-month trip around the world. Carla had already arranged everything and was ready to go. She thought, well then, I guess I’ll just do this by myself.

It wouldn’t be the last time that Carla Cammarata, Education Foundation of the Summit director, would need to be adaptable.

Landing in Buenos Aires, she was terrified for the first couple of days because she had never been out of the U.S. before. It didn’t take her long to immerse herself in the culture and the language, and she learned how to embrace where she was. This was evident during a 3-day bus trip to Bolivia. As she boarded the bus, she noticed two things: caged chickens strapped on the top of the bus, and that she was the only gringa. It got weirder. The man next to Carla slept through the whole trip. The bus driver would randomly pull over and chat with friends on the roadside along the way, sometimes stopping for an hour. The driver collided with another vehicle, and he pulled the bus into a station to repair the windshield. Carla learned that “repair” did not mean a new windshield—it meant duct tape and plastic. Finally, just before reaching their destination, they came upon rocks blocking the road.  People had put them there as a protest about lack of water in their community. But the driver had to get to their destination, so he went off-roading. When he came to a stream, he ordered everyone to get off the bus. Once he crossed the stream, he ordered everyone to get back on. This went on until they finally arrived.

Arriving in Summit County

Not long after her trek, she visited a friend in Summit County and experienced dog sledding, a snowmobile hut trip, a concert, and she encountered amazing people. Carla returned In the summer of 2008 and worked as a rafting guide. She never wanted to leave. 

Looking for a job required more adaptability. Finding a lack of demand for chemists in Summit County, she ended her dreams of managing a lab and took jobs as a barista, babysitting, and tutoring at ClubZ!. About nine months into tutoring, she decided tutoring was her calling.

A New Path—Tutoring

One of her first students at ClubZ! Tutoring was Justin, a skier in town for a few weeks. She was given free reign with an entire curriculum. Carla created an interdisciplinary lesson that would last the day, instead of separating the subjects into 45-minute segments. Tying the idea of embracing where you are, she incorporated projects like interviewing scientists in Denver who studied local owls. After learning about weather patterns she arranged for Justin to go into the backcountry with an avalanche expert. Justin loved it and his mom was ecstatic. 

After the experience with Justin, she knew she wanted to do something different. She knew she could help grow her students into lifelong learners. The current ClubZ! owner, Mike, felt uncomfortable going in a new direction, because so much of tutoring is triage—the student is failing a class and needs help. 

Carla’s adaptability shaped her willingness to become an entrepreneur and she started Sage Tutoring. In her mission to create lifelong learners, she and her staff embolden students to take risks, while still being safe. They encourage creative approaches to problem solving and the growth mindset.1  

In 2013, Carla volunteered to tutor pre-collegiate students (first in their family to attend college) at Summit High (and continued to do so for 2 years). Carla wanted to offer tutoring to students who could not afford it, so she collaborated with the pre-collegiate program at Summit High School to offer tutoring for free or at-cost. 

A few years later, Mike from ClubZ! asked Carla if she wanted to buy him out because he was ready to retire. She took the opportunity and now has the freedom to continue her mission with corporate support with things like backend administration. ClubZ! Tutoring is in Summit County, Eagle, and developing in Aspen. They continue to volunteer with the pre-collegiate program.

Supporting Education Foundation of the Summit

Carla was attracted to Education Foundation of the Summit after talking to Dave Miller who serves on the board. She loved the approach to supporting teachers in their support of students. She loved the Eileen Finkel Innovative Teaching Awards and STEM focus. She soon joined the board in order to give back to the community in the area she’s passionate about. She joined in 2014 and helped plan the first Trivia Night.  She says it was fun to get in early, because she has been able to help build see it grow and impact more people. 

Carla continues to be an avid rafter. She and her husband have adapted their rafting trips to flat water family trips, which they enjoy with their young son.

_______________

  1. Growth mindset is the understanding that intelligence and abilities can be developed, and putting in effort leads to higher achievement. This is in contrast to the fixed mindset, where people believe their talent and intelligence are fixed traits, so they don’t spend time developing them. Fixed-mindset individuals dread failure because it is a negative statement on their basic abilities, while growth mindset individuals don’t mind or fear failure as much because they realize their performance can be improved and learning comes from failure.  
Posted in EFS Blog Posts