Erika Blauch Rusley, Cape Elizabeth H.S., ME

When I learned that Carine was available to virtually meet with my students, I was thrilled. I read Into the Wild shortly after it was published and enjoy sharing the story with students as part of my English curriculum. I knew that Carine would undoubtedly be interesting, but I had no idea how warm she would be. I received an e-mail and letter from her almost immediately and couldn’t believe it. Carine is of course very busy, but she takes the time to make each individual person feel very important. I felt this again and again in my phone conversations with her leading up to the virtual session and in the session itself. By the time the online visit was over, Carine felt like an old friend. My students echoed this sentiment; they felt privileged to get to know Carine, but mostly they felt that she truly cared about their questions & ideas, and she’d piqued their curiosity further. Though they are now clamoring to have Carine join us in person, I was very pleased with how organized and personal the entire virtual experience was and would strongly recommend it.