The essence of our approach to mentoring and leadership training is "learning by doing". As an ANIT student, your primary training is based on assisting the instructor team at The Immersion. This program serves adult students, providing ANIT students with the opportunity to work with adults engaging in a nature connection mentoring program. There will also be opportunities to lead short-term adult programs - typically on theweekends. These could include clubs, daylong workshops, and weekend workshops. ANIT begins in late August and ends in late May/early June. The program is divided into two registration sessions - Fall session and Winter/Spring session. The class averages 10 students, with a maximum class size of 16, and an average student/teacher ratio of 5:1. The normal weekly routine involves classes on Monday - Thursday. Most days are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with exceptions noted on seasonal schedules distributed in class. Office hours are 8am to 4pm weekdays. On average, ANIT students spend 1 to 3 days a week "in the field" assisting and being trained by Wilderness Awareness School core instructors. Some weeks have higher attendance requirements if there is an overnight planned. There will also be a planning meeting on Mondays before class each week and a planning and debrief on the class day. Training opportunities over the course of the year include one-on-one mentoring of students; small and large group facilitation; and helping plan & support field trips and overnights. Field trips involve outings to a local destination in the area surrounding Duvall. On these days, class may start and end at different times. For overnight trips, start and end times may also be different.