Major: Outdoor Education
Graduation Year: 2002
As a young adult searching for the right applicable education, one that would be useful to society and engaging to my own unique talents, I explored many options. Knowing that I had a love of the outdoors, I initially studied Forestry only to realize that I would be alone with little contact with others. That led me to pursue Social Work, yet I would be in agencies with little connection to nature. That is when I transferred and discovered the Outdoor Education program at the University of New Hampshire. It helped me reach my dream of helping others realize the benefits of getting outside.
Little did I know then just exactly how my life would be so thoroughly impacted by this world-class institution of higher learning.
Now, as the Founder and CEO of an award-winning international experiential education training and consultancy firm, Positive Adventures (www.positiveadventures.com), I can honestly say with absolute conviction I owe everything to the amazing teachers I had and the program as a whole for creating and providing me with the necessary tools to navigate the often difficult and tumultuous path of learning one’s purpose. From leading thousands of children in the awe-inspiring back country to riding stallions in Alexandria, Egypt while training the world’s best and brightest corporate executives, I can trace every single component of my skill set to my time at UNH.
Not only has my learning played a vital role professionally, it also has helped to save the life of another through my EMT training and supported countless friends and family allowing them to explore and experience this great earth. My adventures have taken me all over the planet and the skills I developed ensured I would be prepared for any and all conditions and situations. I gained a confidence that has allowed unyielding exploration both internally and externally.There are many majors to choose from, but as a mentor once said, “ if there was a more transformative way to work, I would do that, but this has been the most powerful yet I have seen” and I wholeheartedly agree.
There are so many avenues to becoming a professional in this field. The world is in dire need for more of our population to understand just exactly how blessed we are and what it means to lead, work together as a team, and protect the beauty of nature. When an adult tells me that a program I created was the most powerful day of her life, second only to the birth of her daughter, or when a student with tears in his eyes shares he has never seen such wonder as the star-filled sky at night, then I am moved beyond measure. I owe it all to the direction and wisdom of my teachers who came before me illuminating the path.
