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Brunnenburg: Ethan Waldo '08

Ethan spent two and a half months in the summer of 2006 as an intern at Brunnenburg Castle. This eighth generation Vermonter knew that the internship would enrich his already-active agricultural endeavors, and give him a chance to test his mettle under “the hard-working mentality" that people in that region are known for.

Simply by going out and doing a hard day's work, Ethan said, he gained experierience with the managerial perspectives of farming, and quickly realized that not only is there “always more to do," but the work also has to be done on a sustainable basis.

Through hard work on the vineyard, he learned "what it takes to get stuff done one day, and how to be able to keep doing it."

"You can't be afraid of failing," he added. "You've got to flirt with failure to learn."

There's still a lot to look forward to at GMC for Ethan, a junior with a self-designed major in "grass farming." He noted he looks back with fondness on his time at Brunnenburg, and among the lessons he learned, those pertaining to life resonate stronger than the particularities of viticulture. A vineyard may not be in the future for Ethan, but a summer Brunnenburg Castle has promised to enrich his future endeavors, and the larger Green Mountain College agricultural community.

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