Ordway speaks about expedition

HEBRON — Laura Ordway of Bridgton recently visited the Middle School at Hebron Academy to talk about an expedition she made up Denali (Mt. McKinley in Alaska) when she was younger. Ordway spoke about an hour and held the students’ enraptured attention the entire time. She showed slides of her ascent to Denali’s 20,320-foot summit, which took her about three weeks.

When Ordway began her talk, she said that she had two messages she wanted the kids to hear from her. The first was to take advantage of opportunities when they come your way. Ordway explained how going on the expedition to Denali led her on expeditions all over the world, and she was able to experience many different and exciting things.

Ordway’s second message was that whatever you do, it doesn’t have to be for the rest of your life. Coming from a woman who led expeditions up huge mountains, switched gears to be the director of Winona in Bridgton, then became a mom, and now she’s also an elected official for the state of Maine - the kids thought that was pretty good advice. Sixth grader Emily Thompson said it best: “She made me feel that some day, I might want to become a mountain climber or anything else I set my mind to!”