OPPORTUNITIES IN AND outside of the arts at Mount Abraham Union High School have helped encourage recent grad Nola Roberts to continue pursuing her passions abroad at Montreal’s Concordia University this fall. Roberts recommends other students experiment with the different activities and courses offered during their time in high school.
Photo courtesy of Nola Roberts

BRISTOL — Addison County may be a small community, but the opportunities offered at each of its local high schools can unlock doors to places and possibilities far beyond the Champlain Valley.

That’s certainly been the case for Nola Roberts, a 2025 Mount Abraham Union High School graduate. The Monkton resident is headed to Montreal’s Concordia University in the fall, a step she feels ready to take thanks in part to the experiences she’s had at Mount Abe.

“The ceramics department and the language department have definitely guided that decision to go abroad,” Roberts said during a recent interview. “The influence of my ceramics teacher (Ryan Strobel) has also guided what I’ve wanted to do. I’ve been very lucky to have taken the classes that I have and also have the opportunities to come into the ceramics department during lunch blocks or free blocks.”

Now at the end of her time at the Bristol school, Roberts said she’d encourage current and incoming students to experiment with the different courses that high school affords.

“High school is so special in the way that it’s a completely free education, and this year especially … I’ve definitely been trying to take advantage of any classes that I’ve had any interest in,” Roberts said.

“Taking advantage of the career center and the virtual classes and the college virtual classes that are all offered by the school is such a great way to try out different things,” Roberts continued. “Through those opportunities at Mount Abe that have been offered to me, I’ve found interests, and they’ve really guided me toward what I’ve wanted to do in the future.”

As an artist, Roberts has used the variety of art courses offered at Mount Abe to home in on her interests.

“I’ve taken metal design and art and technology, along with the drawing and painting courses at Mount Abe,” she recalled. “I knew I really wanted to go into an artistic field, but it definitely took me a while to find something that I really loved.”

Roberts noted that she’s found a lot of joy in mixing different art disciplines she’s studied at Mount Abe, such as painting and ceramics.

“It’s been a very interesting thing to explore and has been very supported by Mount Abe’s departments and teachers,” she said.

Roberts has been particularly involved in the school’s ceramics department.

“With the department and some of my friends we’ve run Mount Abe craft fair tables, selling pots and pieces from students to run events for the Clay Club,” she said.

The Mount Abe Clay Club was established by fellow student Maya Menzel.

“It’s an afterschool club where (Strobel) has allowed students to come in and do extra work on their pieces after school,” Roberts explained.

The club has also done some fundraising, with the money allowing students on a field trip to use a special type of firing process known as “Raku firing.”

Roberts has taken advantage of opportunities to pursue artistic endeavors outside of school, such as through classes offered at studios in Bristol and South Burlington. More recently, she’s also been a part of Mount Abe’s track and field team.

Looking back on her time in high school, Roberts said virtual courses like AP Art History are the ones that stick out to her.  She’s also enjoyed exploring languages through a virtual course on American Sign Language and French classes at Mount Abe.

“Before I had decided to take language, the idea of going abroad or to a different country had never crossed my mind as a possibility for college,” she said.

Roberts can remember the exact moment that changed. During her freshman year, she recalls hearing from an upperclassman at the school who’d just returned from a semester abroad in France.

“Her entire experience was so interesting to me and really opened my eyes to this whole world of possibilities of studying in different areas and learning about different cultures, which really ties into this interest in art history that I have,” she said.

RECENT MOUNT ABE grad Nola Roberts created this sculpture for an AP Art course during her senior year. Roberts noted the cracks in the sculpture were made when the piece exploded while in the kiln, and she decided to incorporate them into the final design rather than scrap the piece.
Photos courtesy of Nola Roberts

Roberts credits Strobel and other teachers as another impactful part of her time at Mount Abe, so much so that she and other students rallied around educators at the school when it appeared several positions were destined for the chopping block last spring.

At the time, the Mount Abraham Unified School District, and several others around the state, was struggling to get a budget for the upcoming fiscal year approved by voters.

MAUSD officials had at one point issued Reduction in Force (RIF) notices to 17 teachers, reflecting a “worst-case scenario” if the district wasn’t able to pass a budget by July 1. They later identified additional savings that could be realized without acting on any RIFs.

“A lot of people in the school were very upset because a lot of these teachers were very much favorites,” Roberts said of the RIFs.

She worked with other students to meet with administrators and organize a school-wide walkout with over 150 participants.

Roberts said it was meaningful to her and other students that school officials ultimately found other areas to achieve savings in.

“It’s such a small community, but the fact that we have such a thriving art department with our musical theater and our language (department) and the ceramics and jewelry opportunities that Mount Abe offers, it was just something that hit a lot of people really hard,” she said.

Roberts said she believes the various opportunities offered at the school help form a sense of community at Mount Abe.

“There’s so many places for kids to find communities that have just been so important to see form,” she said. “As an art kid, I’ve definitely made a lot of friends through the art department, and it’s just such a nice thing that the school has, to have the opportunities in the arts that would usually not be considered vital in a high school.”

Roberts acknowledges that leaving the Mount Abe community for a new one in Montreal will be a major shift, but she’s looking forward to the opportunity.

“I really wanted to go to Montreal because of that different cultural experience I know it’s going to offer, specifically with the language and also it being such a large city,” she said. “I live on a dirt road in Monkton, and so the difference between that and a large city is definitely going to be a big change, but I’m very excited for that difference.”

Roberts plans to study art history and studio art at Concordia, with the hope of going on to explore museum work, curation or another career path in the arts.