We were thrilled to welcome author and journalist Ken Ilgunas to Avon Central Schools today to speak with our students about his life, career and the art of writing. 

Ilgunas rose to prominence following the publication of his first book, “Walden on Wheels,” in 2013. The book chronicles Ilgunas’ three-year journey paying off $32,000 in student loans and the two years he spent living out of a 1994, burgundy Econoline van while earning a master’s degree at Duke University. 

Subsequent books traced his experiences trekking 1,700 miles along the proposed Keystone Pipeline route from Alberta, Ca. to the Texas Gulf Coast (“Trespassing Across America”) and examined the eroding ‘Right to Roam’ in the United States (“This Land is Our Land”). 

Ilgunas spoke with students about his early life, his time in college and the years immediately following when, unable to secure a job in journalism, he was faced with the prospect of continuing to push carts at Home Depot or heading north to Coldfoot, Alaska to work as a tour guide, garbage picker and night cook.

After his presentation, Ilgunas engaged in a writing workshop with students in Mrs. Cordula Kennell’s creative writing class, then sat for a Q&A, answering any and every question our students could come up with. 

Many thanks to Ken Ilgunas for joining us today and for his powerful presentation - it definitely gave us a hankering for the freedom of the open road!