My main subject area of teaching is outdoor education. I teach classes for the Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Department of the University of Utah. The classes I teach for them include canyoneering, mountain biking, cooking and camping, and backpacking. I really enjoy these classes. It's fun to spend a weekend camping and playing outdoors with college students (most of the time anyway) and getting paid for it is a definite bonus!
I also teach here and there for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). I took a course in 1996 when I was 16--a 30-day backpacking course in the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming--and knew I wanted to be an instructor. The ones on my course just looked like they were having so much fun, and they knew so much cool stuff. The next 4 years I worked toward becoming qualified to apply for an instructor course. I did a Wilderness EMT course (also a great experience and probably why I'm and RN now!) in the little town of Pitkin, Colorado for a month, and just worked hard at getting as many hours taking people outdoors as I could. All through college I worked at the U of U Outdoor Recreation Program, so there was ample opportunity to help lead river trips, backpacking trips, etc.
In the year 2000 I got accepted on a NOLS instructor course. I was back in the Wind Rivers again, this time in the snow, with a heavy pack on snowshoes. It was one of the most fun things I've ever done. Except for when I popped my shoulder mostly out of joint practicing self-arrest without an ice ax. I had to sit out most of the 2-week climbing camp. I got to work a lot on my anchor building and rescue techniques.
It's great that you get to teach in a subject area that you enjoy! Playing in the great outdoors is a great place to learn.
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting that you are a nurse, yet your passion is clearly outdoors and teaching. I admire anybody who goes after their passion. I also find it interesting that the jobs we get when we are going to school often have a bigger impact on us then most of the classes. I know I do what I do now because of a job I had as a student.
ReplyDeleteSounds like fun! It's definitely a plus when you truly love what you teach. Students can tell when you are passionate about any subject, even if that "subject" is outdoor recreation.
ReplyDeleteJ, Did I tell you that outdoor ed and park education is one of the reasons I started the MED? It's so great to blend the outdoors and learning!
ReplyDeleteAs Ben mentioned, I admire that you have pursued a career (with the help of nursing) that you enjoy doing. I think I admire more that you can live in the wild with very little material goods. I must go to the wrong places when I'm outdoors. I associate camping etc. with being cold and I hate being cold.
ReplyDeleteI am jealous. I wish I could be paid to go hiking and climbing and just be outside. But I can't complain about my job either. I can't imagine how painful the shoulder must of been. I am a WFR and practiced reducing them and it kinda grossed me out. Hopefully the nursing job gets you enough release time to do you r pashion.
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