Northland College

Northland College
  • Academics
  • Campus Life
  • Admissions
  • Athletics
  • Centers
  • Sustainability
Search
  • Directory
  • Campus Map
  • Calendar
  • Alumni
  • Giving
  • News
More...
  • Academics
    • Undergraduate
    • Faculty
    • Resources
    • Opportunities
      • Internships
      • Undergraduate Research
      • Study Abroad
      • Off-campus Learning
      • Student Jobs
    • Graduate Success
    • Course Catalog
    • Transcript Request
    • Commencement
  • Campus Life
    • Dining
    • Housing
    • Outdoor Orientation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
      • Indigenous Cultures Center
        • Native Student Offerings
        • Powwow & Awareness
        • Community Outreach
        • Native American Museum
    • Get Involved
    • Bicycles & Gear Rental
    • Fitness Center
    • Services
      • Counseling Services
      • Accommodations
      • Health Services
      • Safety & Security
  • Admissions
    • Visit Campus
    • Tuition
    • Financial Aid
      • Scholarships
      • Grants
      • Loans
      • FAFSA
      • Veterans
    • Enroll
    • Meet Your Admissions Counselor
    • College Fairs
  • Athletics
    • Athletic Website
    • Athletic Facilities
    • Varsity Club Membership
    • Buy Team Gear
    • Hall of Fame
    • Annual Golf Classic
    • Camps, Leagues, Tournaments
      • 3on3 Basketball Tournament
      • Basketball Camps & Leagues
      • Youth Soccer Camp
      • Softball Camp
      • Volleyball Camps & Leagues
    • Give to Athletics
  • Centers
    • Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation
      • Our Work
      • Student Research Opportunities
      • Lab Services
      • Burke Center in the News
      • Water Summit
    • Center for Rural Communities
      • Rural Livelihood Initiatives
        • Quality of Life Database
        • Northwoods Community Survey
        • Opinion Polls
        • Local Food Systems
      • Human-Environment Connection
      • Publications
      • Data Visualizations
      • Student Opportunities
    • Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute
      • LoonWatch
        • About Loons
        • Protect Loons
        • Get Involved
        • Loon Appreciation Week and Poster
      • Timber Wolf Alliance
        • Wolf Awareness Week and Poster
        • Learn About Wolves
        • TWA Speakers Bureau
        • Wolf Status Reports
        • Vision for Wolves
        • Great Lakes Wolf Symposium
      • Youth Outreach Programs
      • SONWA Book Awards
        • SONWA Seals
      • Sigurd Olson Legacy
      • Apostle Islands Stewardship Symposium
      • Intangible Magazine
      • Forest Lodge Educational Campus
        • Rental Information
    • Hulings Rice Food Center
      • Compost Center
      • Larson Food Lab
      • Campus Gardens
      • Student Opportunities
  • Sustainability
  • Alumni
    • Alumni Board
      • Alumni Awards
    • Get Involved
      • Ask Our Alumni Panels
    • Pride Pack, Apparel, and Merchandise
    • Class Notes
    • Transcript Request
    • Update Your Information
    • Events
    • Give
    • Oral History Project
  • Giving
    • Christopher T. Morgan Scholarship
    • Meet Our Team
  • About Northland
    • President Chadwick L. Dayton
    • Northland College Magazine
    • Campus Sculpture Tour
    • Advocacy & Public Discourse
    • Consumer Information

Fanning the Flame

Scott Griffiths '97 takes everything he's done in life and wraps into a package for teens.

October 28, 2021

Share

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • email

Northland College alum Scott Griffiths runs the SPARK program in Ashland, Wisconsin.You know that look someone has when they’re in love for the first time? The permanent half-smile like they’re recalling a joke from the night before, the easy laugh, lightness of step? That’s the look Scott Griffiths ’97 has. He glows.

For one, he’s married to Kellie Pederson ’98, a ray of sunshine herself. The two of them have lived a long life together doing what they love—as artists, performers, educators, leaders.

“I feel blessed, I’ve been able to chase passion my whole adult life,” Scott said from a warehouse he transformed into a haven for youth. “Money has never been the driver.”

For the last two and a half years, he’s been leading a state-funded, county-run after-school program, named SPARK (Student Pathways to Adventure Resilience and Knowledge) for twelve-to eighteen-year-olds designed as a substance use prevention program.

Located in a warehouse by the skate park in downtown Ashland, Wisconsin, SPARK has a basketball hoop and volleyball net outside. There are trailers with mountain bikes, fat tire bikes, and paddleboards ready to hit the trail or water. Inside, there is a skateboard and BMX park, pool and foosball tables, a lounge, refrigerator, office space, and a room with musical instruments and chairs arranged as if waiting for the band to arrive.

In other words, anything could happen here.

“I’ve spent my whole life being driven by what lights me up and that’s what we’re trying to do with these kids—we help them discover what lights them up,” Scott said.

Scott graduated from Northland College with a degree in outdoor education. For his first job out of college, he led troubled teens into the wilderness for thirty days at a time. Two years later, a motorcycle accident and a broken neck left him reconsidering whether he wanted to carry a backpack for a living.

While recovering, he earned an alternative education teaching degree and became interested in art.

He worked with alumnus Chris Lutter-Gardella ’93 creating oversized puppets and perfecting street performances with them. A bicycling puppet named Sunny and a parade of large animals caught the eye of Jane Goodall, and next Scott, Kellie, Chris, and others were off to “do a gig with Jane” at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

That gig led to years of busking on the streets of cities around the US, then to the world of west African dance—including a trip to Guinea in west Africa. He and Kellie moved to Boulder, Colorado, and ran a democratic school. “It was super aligned with my philosophy on how kids learn,” he said. “Give them agency, resources, and they will learn. It was a great passion project.”

They eventually returned to the Chequamegon Bay region, and, following Kellie’s passion they opened Humble Be yoga studio. Scott was elected to three terms as mayor of Washburn, before leaving to coordinate a mental health grant for the School District of Ashland.

As that grant wound down, Ashland County contacted Scott about managing another grant to reduce teen substance use in the community, and several weeks later, SPARK was born.

“What’s been really fascinating and what I love about this program is that it’s taken everything I’ve ever done in my life, and wraps it all in one package,” he said.

At SPARK, the staff’s primary focus is building solid relationships with the youth they serve. Scott and his staff—consisting of several Northland alumni over the years—take students paddle boarding, rock climbing, kayaking, mountain biking, roller skating, snowboarding, and hiking. They host classes in photography, art, and anything else their kids want to pursue.

“The activities are great but really it’s about the relationships,” he said. “We’re trying to provide opportunities for kids and hope they find something to light that flame.”

Scott’s investment does not stop at the warehouse door. The week before this magazine interview, in early September, he and Kellie deepened their conversations about fostering one of the kids in the program. “This is one of the kids that really hit a soft spot. I’ve been caring and concerned about her since we met at SPARK two years ago,” Scott said.

And now two have become a family of three. What he and Kellie are doing for this teen—providing a safe and welcoming home—is what Scott and the SPARK staff continue to offer to the youth of Ashland. They feed them dinner, provide transportation, and see and treat these kids as the beautiful, unique, talented, and brilliant kids that they are.

“I really, truly can say that I love these kids. My day is better when they show up,” Scott said. “Some of them make me a little crazy sometimes and I still get a smile on my face when I see them walk in that door.”

  • Alum Bob Schopp ’69 stands on the field at Ponzio Stadium

    For the Love of Learning

    In the spring of 1965, I graduated from high school and looked forward to the end of my formal education. After four years of being…

    For the Love of Learning
  • Melissa Damaschke ’03 on a swing outside of the former Gaia’s Cradle, now the Diversity Center.

    The Company You Keep

    We usually think of a highway as straight. But the reality is, highways are full of twists and turns (along with the occasional bear or…

    The Company You Keep
  • Pride Flag in the Ponzio Campus Center

    The Story Behind the Pride Flag on Campus

    As we reach the end of Pride Month, student intern Toni Alioto ’22 delves into the history of the pride flag—its creation, its meaning, and…

    The Story Behind the Pride Flag on Campus
  • Becky Brun ’00 sits atop St. Peters Dome south of Ashland.

    Half Hugger, Half Hooper

    When I arrived at Northland and met my new basketball coach and teammates, it didn’t take long before I acquired the nickname “4-H’er—half hugger, half…

    Half Hugger, Half Hooper
  • Visit
  • Info
  • Apply

News

  • Northland College Announces Daniel Schumacher as Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics

    Northland College is pleased to announce the appointment of Daniel Schumacher as…

  • Congratulations, Class of 2023

    Congratulations, graduates! Northland College is proud to have welcomed 106 graduates into…

  • Northland College to Celebrate Graduates at its 2023 Commencement Ceremony

    Northland College is pleased to announce its 112th Commencement Ceremony, which will…

  • Gregory Steps Down, Sorenson Named Interim Athletics Director

    Northland College has announced that after nine years in Northland College’s Athletics…

  • Northland College’s Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings Appointed to Wisconsin Natural Resources Board by Governor Tony Evers

    Northland College is proud to announce that Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings, associate director…

  • A Needs Assessment for the Midwest Climate Asset Map

    Right now, I am staring at the conference poster printer in confusion…

  • Burke Center Hosts “Perils of Plastic” Talk

    In honor of World Water Day, and in service to its goal…

  • 2022 Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Awards Announced

    The Northland College Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute has announced the winning books…

  • Northland College to Help Finlandia University Students Continue Their Education with the Sisu Promise

    Northland College is launching the Sisu Promise to support Finlandia University students…

  • From the Archives: A Guide and Outfitter for the Northwoods

    In the entryway to the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute building on the…

News Archive »

1411 Ellis Avenue
Ashland, WI 54806
(715) 682-1699 | Map
  • About Northland
  • Constitution Day at Northland
  • Consumer Information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Take a Class
  • Employment
  • Campus Store

my.northland.edu

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 Northland College. All rights reserved.

https://www.northland.edu/news/fanning-the-flame

Our website uses cookies for necessary functions and to enhance your browsing experience. Learn more in our Privacy Policy.

Accept & Continue