TFS Foxfire Fellows

The most recent Foxfire magazine is now available and features close to 30 submissions from Tallulah Falls School upper school students.

Thanks to the Foxfire organization, a new partnership launched in 2020 is bringing students closer to regional history.

In addition to the writing submissions, six TFS students served as staff members for the magazine.

As Foxfire Leadership Fellows, the students mastered design, layout, editing, and ultimately producing the magazine featuring their submissions and those of their fellow schoolmates.

Students serving as Foxfire Fellows are Colton Augustine, CJ Augustine, Justin Graham, Madi Perdue and Dani Prince.

Perdue has several pieces published in the issue of Foxfire. She hopes to continue honing her storytelling skills in her future endeavors. She offers a glimpse of the experience below:

“My experience at Foxfire this past summer was, in a word, inspirational. I learned so much about myself and about how my heritage has guided my path so far in life.

Not only did the other Fellows and I get the opportunity to work with the magazine and learn about publishing, but our SEED (Students Experiencing Education Differently) Projects allowed us to focus on our personal interests and pursue them through projects we designed and fulfilled.

I chose to chronicle my peers’ journeys through the Foxfire Podcast, ‘It Still Lives.’ I wrote interview questions, researched the other fellows’ topics, interviewed my peers, edited the audio, and created four podcast episodes called ‘The SEED Series.’

I think all of the Fellows immensely enjoyed learning our heritage skills (traditional Appalachian crafts taught

foxfire fellows

by Foxfire’s resident craftspeople), and most of us are still trying to practice our skills even outside of the program. I think that’s why it made such a big impact on me — I went into the Foxfire Fellowship knowing I would learn, but I came out of the Fellowship having broadened my horizons and deepened my understanding of my identity as I know it.” The mission of Foxfire magazine is to empower students to share their voices and visions with an audience beyond the classroom by providing a platform for creative expression and investigations into the world around them. To purchase a copy of the magazine, visit https://tinyurl.com/ ew46fdn9f

My Name is Appalachia

By: Madi Perdue

My name is Tradition. It’s a family name, handed down from generation to generation And improved upon with each passing year, But never forgetting those from whom it came.

My name is Endurance. I earned it over the cold winters when the ground stayed frozen Into the spring And the sun beat down mercilessly in the summer — Yet here I stand.

My name is Strength. I worked for that title for many years. I made do with what I had Even when what I had was not enough. Nobody saw the work I did; They all saw the products of my labor.

My name is Creativity. It was not a name I chose, but rather one that was the thrust upon me. My methods are not traditional, and yet they evince the tradition of my ancestors. I put my ideas to work to accomplish that which most others cannot for themselves.

My name is unique; My name is faithful; My name is worthy.

My name is Appalachia.