Schools & Youth Programs
Hike Your
Own Hike
A story-driven school program about presence, resilience, and finding the courage to be yourself.
Students come for the Appalachian Trail adventure — the rain, the wildlife, the gear, the hard days, the funny moments, and the question everyone wants answered: what about bears?
They leave with something quieter: a reminder to slow down, notice what matters, and trust their own path.
Hike Your Own Hike brings students along on my 2,000+ mile journey from Georgia to Maine and uses the trail as a way to talk about the things they carry every day — comparison, pressure, uncertainty, friendship, identity, and the courage it takes to keep going.
This is not a pep rally.
It’s a journey — built with stories, humor, student participation, and moments that invite real reflection.
50+ schools • 10,000+ students • K–12 adaptable • NJ-based, travel available
Watch the school demo
“...presenting in a fun, engaging, and informative way.”
— Principal, Wildwood City School District, NJ
Why schools bring this program in
Students are carrying a lot.
Pressure to fit in.
Pressure to keep up.
Pressure to have things figured out.
Pressure to be okay, even when they are overwhelmed.
Schools often bring me in when students are navigating comparison, anxiety, transitions, friendship pressure, identity, resilience, or the need for a reset.
The trail story gives us a way to talk about those things without making the room feel heavy.
Students get pulled into the adventure first. Then, almost without realizing it, they start making connections to their own lives.
That’s why the message lands.
What happens in the room
Students are usually pretty curious about what it takes to hike the Appalachian Trail.
What did I carry?
Where did I sleep?
What happened when it rained?
How did I keep going when things got hard?
And seriously… what about bears?
Those questions give us a place to start.
Through stories, photos, trail gear, audience participation, and honest conversation, I connect the trail experience to real life in a way students can understand.
We talk about finding something good during hard days, accepting help, passing kindness forward, and learning that you don’t have to follow everyone else’s path to belong.
Some moments are funny. Some are quiet. Some give students something to think about long after the assembly ends.
A program that grows with your students
Every visit is shaped around the age group, setting, and goals of the school.
Before the visit, we’ll talk through your students, schedule, group size, and what you hope the program supports.
-
Courage, gratitude, and kindness
With younger students, we explore big ideas through stories they can understand: trying something even when you feel nervous, noticing what’s good on a hard day, and helping someone who needs it.
Trail stories, gear, wildlife, and interactive moments — including creating a rainstorm together — give students ways to participate and stay engaged.
Typical length: 30–40 minutes
For schools with a wide elementary age range, separate sessions for younger and older students are usually recommended.
-
Being yourself when fitting in feels important
Middle school students know what it feels like to compare, keep up, and wonder where they fit.
Together, we explore what hike your own hike can mean in everyday life: trusting your pace, asking for help, staying open, and remembering that you don’t have to do everything the way everyone else does.
Typical length: 45–55 minutes
-
Making choices when everyone has an opinion about your future
High school brings bigger decisions, louder expectations, and plenty of pressure to have things figured out.
Through the trail story, we explore uncertainty, resilience, identity, and what it means to pay attention to what matters — even when the path ahead is unclear.
Typical length: 45–60 minutes
Orientation, transitions, and send-offs
Some school visits happen at a specific turning point. These programs are shaped around the moment students are entering.
-
Starting high school can feel exciting and intimidating, sometimes in the same afternoon.
This talk helps students think about finding their footing, exploring interests, meeting people, and handling the pressure to fit in.
Three ideas guide the conversation:
Choose your trail.
Trust your pace.
Leave trail magic. -
Graduation comes with a lot of questions about what happens next.
This talk gives seniors space to think about expectations, uncertainty, support, and how to move forward without needing to have the whole path figured out.
-
A new school means new routines, new people, and unfamiliar expectations.
We explore practical ways to approach that change: asking for help, building connections, trying something new, and remembering that feeling unsure is a normal part of starting.
Assemblies + student workshops
The assembly opens the door.
Workshops give students more space to reflect, participate, and apply the ideas to their own lives.
Student workshops can support leadership groups, wellness days, advisory programs, orientation experiences, transition programs, or follow-up work after an assembly.
These sessions are more interactive and discussion-based, giving students time to write, move, talk, listen, and connect the message to what they are actually experiencing.
Workshops can be offered as a single session or as part of a multi-session program.
Staff and parent sessions
When schools want to extend the conversation beyond the student program, staff and parent sessions can also be added.
These sessions help adults reflect on presence, pressure, connection, and what it looks like to support young people without adding more noise to their lives.
They can be especially useful around wellness days, transition programs, family nights, or school-wide initiatives.
What educators (and students) are saying
“After a masterfully done presentation, I was left inspired and incredibly motivated.”
— High School Student, Oratory Prep, NJ
“...practical, lifelong lessons for students...”
— Guidance Counselor, Frankford Township School District, NJ
“I’ve been teaching for 30 years and this is the best assembly I’ve ever seen.”
— Teacher, Jefferson Township School District, NJA little about Ryan
Ryan Benz is a New Jersey-based dad of three, bestselling author, speaker, and mentor.
His Appalachian Trail experience became the foundation of his memoir, Wander, and the stories he has been sharing with students for nearly a decade.
Ryan’s school programs are built around one simple idea:
Hike Your Own Hike.
On the trail, it means there is no single right way to make the journey. In school and in life, it becomes a reminder for students to slow down, notice what matters, and find the courage to walk their own path.
Planning your visit
School assembly / talk: $2,500
Additional same-day program: $500
This pricing applies to school visits within New Jersey.
For programs outside New Jersey, added time, travel and other related expenses may apply.
Workshop series, multi-session programs, staff sessions, parent/community nights, and customized school-wide experiences are quoted separately based on the format, schedule, and goals of the visit.
Two sessions can help split students by age group so each audience receives a version suited to them.
Before booking, we’ll talk through grade levels, audience size, schedule, setup, goals, and what format makes the most sense for your school.
Bring Hike Your Own Hike to your school
Tell me a little about your school, your students, and what you hope they walk away with.
Whether you’re planning an assembly, freshman orientation, a transition program, student workshops, a staff session, or a senior send-off, we’ll talk through what makes sense.