Twenty-Three Years and Counting: A Conversation with Ronald from Old Trail School

Written by Erin Rosolina, marketing director at Tremont. Cover image: Old Trail School students from the Tremont archives; year unknown. 

Last week, I had the chance to sit down (virtually) with Ronald Teunissen, who’s been bringing seventh graders from Old Trail School in Ohio to Tremont for more than two decades. I knew he’d been a longtime trip leader, but I wasn’t prepared for just how deep his connection to this place – and to this kind of learning – runs.

Ronald has worked at Old Trail for 30 years and has been the lead on their Tremont trip for 23 of those. He’s also a PE teacher by training, born and raised in the Netherlands, who ended up in the U.S. when his wife returned to finish her master’s degree in Cleveland. His story is full of these little moments of serendipity. One of my favorites: his brother, Frank, ended up working in Maryville, Tennessee, and was involved in UT’s black bear program, which took place on Tremont’s campus in the building where my office is currently. (Here’s a great pic from our archives.) When Ronald started looking for the right environmental education program for his students, it was Frank who suggested Tremont. The rest is history.

Since 2000, Ronald has brought a new group of seventh graders each year (minus two pandemic cancellations), navigating changing administrators, program tweaks, and evolving needs, all while staying remarkably consistent himself. He’s the kind of trip leader we dream of having: steady, flexible, thoughtful, and deeply committed to his students’ experience.

What struck me most in our conversation wasn’t just his loyalty to Tremont, but the way he talked about his students. Many of them have never spent time in the mountains or even been off-grid for a few days. He described the initial anxiety they feel around hiking all day, being outside in the rain, or using the bathroom in the woods. But then, something shifts. They grow more confident, realizing they’re more capable than they ever thought before.

For Ronald, Tremont works not just because it’s in a national park or because the programming is strong (though both of those things matter), but because, as he puts it, “Your staff really gets middle schoolers.” He spoke about the importance of meeting students where they are, of recognizing their quirks and challenges (“It is such an odd-ball crowd”), and still finding ways to engage them. That’s something I see every day in our educators, but hearing it from someone outside our staff – someone who’s been watching us work for 23 years – was incredibly affirming.

Talking with Ronald felt like talking with a friend of the family. It was a conversation full of humor, wisdom, practical advice, and deep appreciation for what’s possible when kids are invited into nature. I walked away feeling proud of what we do at Tremont – and even more grateful for the partners who help make it all happen, year after year.

Thank you, Ronald, for being that constant, both for Tremont and for your kids.