| Sitting down
at the table with the 30 students
who had gathered for a lunch
one would be hard pressed
to imagine what they all had
in common. Ranging in age
from 18 to 61 years old and
coming from all parts of the
country and from all walks
of life here sat a former
middle school teacher, a retired
Marine Corps Colonel, an American
Idol contestant, an exercise
physiologist from Brazil,
a former Navy diving instructor,
several raft guides, a stay-at-home
mom, a paramedic, a surf bum
and many others.
What do they all have in
common? Turns out they are
all students in Paul Wolf’s
Outdoor
Leadership Program at
Southwestern Community College.
Southwestern
Community College’s
outdoor leadership
program rocks,
according to Paul
Killian of Georgia
as he challenges
the rock face
of Picken’s
Nose. (click
on photo above
for larger image) |
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Started over eight years
ago, the outdoor leadership
program has grown into one
of the country’s best
kept secrets. Offering an
associate’s degree
and a certificate, the program
prepares individuals for
professional positions in
the outdoor adventure and
education fields. Graduates
from the program have gone
on to careers as National
Park and Forest Service
rangers, county and city
park managers, therapeutic
field instructors and college
instructors. Some have opened
their own outdoor companies.
“Though they come
from varied backgrounds,
they all have one thing
in common - the love of
the outdoors and the desire
to share that love with
other people,” Wolf
said.
“It’s a challenging
program,” says Carrie
Bonds, a former Chapel Hill
school teacher. “You
are pushed to go past your
preconceived limits and
to work with others in stressful
situations.”
Bonds, who now leads backcountry
trips for Wellspring Camps,
said, “I was able
to take my former career
as a teacher and apply new
technical skills and experiential
teaching methods to help
others discover their potential”.
“The training you
get in this program not
only helps you work in the
outdoor industry, it helps
you in daily life”
said Mary K. Barbour. Originally
from New York, she and her
husband David have been
students in the program
for the last two years.
“I spent the last
25 years in prison”
joked David Barbour, adding,
“as a prison guard.”
After retirement the couple
moved to Franklin and decided
to “take advantage
of all the things the mountains
of Western North Carolina
had to offer, so we signed
up to take one outdoor leadership
class each semester. We
couldn’t have made
a better choice.”
“I work as a kayak
instructor and raft guide
at the Nantahala Outdoor
Center” said Matt
Wilkey of Tennessee. “SCC’s
outdoor leadership program
allows me to get a college
degree and live and work
in one of the best places
in the country for whitewater
paddling.”
Students
in Southwestern
Community College’s
outdoor leadership
program like Dusty
Dills of Franklin,
left, and Matt
Wilkey of Tennessee
find the classes,
such as this adventure
challenge course,
test their individuals
limits while teaching
them team-building
skills at the
same time.
(click
on photo above
for larger image)
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For many of the other outdoor
programs students have to
drive hours to get to activity
sites. Wolf said his students
“simply step out our
back door. We’re located
in the heart of the Great
Smoky Mountains; we are
the Outdoor Adventure Capital
of the Southeast. We have
national forests and parks,
the Appalachian Trail, whitewater
rivers, nationally-ranked
mountain bike trails, rock
climbing and wilderness
areas.
“People choose this
career because they love
the outdoors and working
with people. When someone
asks them what do they do
for a living they can honestly
say, ‘I get paid for
doing what I love.’
How many people can say
that?”
In his classes Wolf said
students learn and practice
the skills necessary to
become a leader in their
field. “Hands-on practice
combined with intentional
planning, ethical and industry
standards and assessment
give them the skills needed
to be more than just a guide.
They have the markings of
a well-rounded professional.
Plus, most of them receive
national certification which
makes them very employable.”
Wolf, smiling wryly, called
his world-class instructors
“outstanding in their
field…and in their
boats and on the trail.”
Apparently this hasn’t
gone unnoticed since SCC
was recently listed as the
4th
best community college in
the country by Washington
Monthly.
Wolf added that there are
new developments in the
outdoor leadership program.
“We are adding new
classes in ecotourism starting
this fall,” he said.
“We are meeting with
industry professionals to
plan a concentration in
adventure-based counseling
for the program. This would
help meet the burgeoning
demand of the therapeutic
wilderness industry growing
in Western North Carolina.”
SCC recently formed a partnership
with the Nantahala Outdoor
Center’s Leadership
Institute and with SOLO
Wilderness Medicine to offer
a full range of national
certifications in wilderness
medicine.
Students
in Southwestern
Community College’s
outdoor leadership
program take a
break while on
an expedition
on the Bartram
Trail. “Though
my students come
from varied backgrounds,
they all have
one thing in common
- the love of
the outdoors and
the desire to
share that love
with other people,”
said SCC outdoor
leadership director
Paul Wolf.
(click
on photo above
for larger image)
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“People can now come
into the program and get
a degree, the certificate
or just take a class so
they can earn national certifications
as a wilderness first responder
or EMT, or in other areas
such as challenge course
facilitation and management
or swift water rescue, just
to name a few,” Wolf
said. Students are also
able to expand their education
by transferring into Western
Carolina University’s
bachelor’s degree
program in park and recreation
due to the articulation
agreement between the two
schools.
Becky Huncilman from Indiana
was in college and looking
for something exciting to
do with her life when she
discovered the Outdoor
Leadership Program at
SCC while surfing online.
“I saw what they
had to offer and it just
clicked. I now know what
I want to do with my life.
I had no idea a program
like this existed!”
Huncilman said.
Wolf said this is true
of many of his students
who start college elsewhere
and are looking for the
right degree that matches
their personalities and
life philosophies.
“Many students tell
me about their epiphanies
when they discover this
program,” Wolf said.
“The outdoors has
been like that for me. It’s
as much of an intentional
lifestyle as it is a career.
The nice part is that you
can make a living out of
doing what you love.”
For more information about
SCC’s outdoor leadership
program contact Wolf at
828-488-2982, pjwolf@soutwesterncc.edu
or visit www.southwesterncc.edu/odl.
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