Andrew Forsthoefel '11
Self-employed author, speaker, and group facilitator
Environmental Studies with a minor in Chinese
Self-employed author, speaker, and group facilitator
“I have followed my heart, destigmatized my own questions and doubts and fears, and prioritized authentic connection to myself. My career as a writer began simply because I had to write. I could not imagine doing anything else. My work as a speaker began on it’s own, by request from host institutions, and my work as a guest teacher and group facilitator evolved out of my work as a speaker. It has been a slow, surprising, challenging, and clarifying path, this life of the independent artist.”
Tell us what you do.
I am an author, a speaker, and a group facilitator.
What have you done since Middlebury?
After graduating in 2011, I spent one year walking across America with a sign on my backpack that read “Walking to Listen.” I wrote an eponymous memoir about that journey, published by Bloomsbury, and toured the book for five years, speaking and guest teaching at high schools, colleges, and universities. I co-founded the mentoring collective Young Men Awake, which provides emotional intelligence and leadership training for self-identifying men, and facilitate group healing work at Good Medicine Collective in Portland, ME.
How has your choice of majors influenced your life after graduation?
I began to find my voice as a writer in the classes required for the Nonfiction focus of my major, receiving invaluable mentorship from my professors. The science courses challenged me and got me outside, which continues to be the source of my inspiration: nature.
When did you know which major you were going to choose?
I figured it out at the end of my second year.
How did you decide what career path you wanted to pursue after graduating?
I have followed my heart, destigmatized my own questions and doubts and fears, and prioritized authentic connection to myself. My career as a writer began simply because I had to write. I could not imagine doing anything else. My work as a speaker began on it’s own, by request from host institutions, and my work as a guest teacher and group facilitator evolved out of my work as a speaker. It has been a slow, surprising, challenging, and clarifying path, this life of the independent artist.
Finally, what advice or suggestions do you have for current students as they consider their post-Middlebury futures?
Follow your heart. Trust in those intuitions that don’t always necessarily make sense. Prioritize the authenticity of your connection to yourself, and see where that takes you. Being yourself is the great gift you have to give to the world. It is yourself you are to be, and not anything else. Put yourself in the conditions where you will be supported in finding out who you are, and your career will flow from that primary exploration.
Learn more about the Environmental Studies department at Middlebury.