Wilderness as classroom
By Jimmie Braley
jbraley@mscd.edu

   Outward Bound has allowed thousands of otherwise uneducated individuals to experience and admire the grandeur and beauty of nature.
   It has also left them with experiences they are able to apply in their own lives back home.
   “ For most people today, challenge is limited to the confines of a classroom or office or gym. In the wilderness, people are easily removed from their comfort zone,” said Jason Stout, the Rocky Mountain Outreach coordinator for Outward Bound.
   That removal is vitally important to the programs’ purpose of helping individuals to expand on their personal horizons.
   “ I have had conversations with thousands of Outward Bound alumni and I consistently hear that Outward Bound was one of the most powerful and positive experiences in their lives. I have heard many stories of renewal, including career changes, business start-ups, community service and pursuit of higher education,” Stout said.
   Participants in the program range in age from 14 to over 40, and each work together to achieve the same ends.
   “ Although each person may come from a different religious, political, ethnic or economic background, they learn to put the differences aside and work together,” Stout said. “Many of our college-age students receive from two to 12 credits for participating.”
   Stout said he was inspired by the program after his semester-long trip.
   “ In my every day life, I was distracted by work, television, mp3s and fast food. On my Outward Bound Wilderness semester, the distractions evaporated and I was left with myself and nine of my course mates.”
   Stout, along with other past participants in the program, has gone on to devote his career to Outward Bound and other wilderness interaction programs.
   “ I’m lucky to do something I’m so passionate about,” he said. “Outward Bound has enabled me to combine my love for people and the wilderness into a career.”
   Stout spends most of his time at colleges and universities spreading the word about the program. He has also worked as a field intern for Outward Bound’s mountain program and as an instructor for the struggling-teen program.
   It has been proven that individuals who seek to expand their personal boundaries have achieved their goals at great success by emancipating themselves from their daily routine.
   The program attempts to help those who seek such self-enlightenment by allowing them to witness the natural world, leaving them to solve immediate and real problems they face on their expeditions.
   Outward Bound emphasizes the need for people to come to an understanding with themselves and with nature by putting aside issues of little or no importance in life.
   The renewal and rejuvenation of the soul through participating in Outward Bound is evident in all of its alumni.
   “ Now, when I’m faced with a challenge, it pales in comparison to spending 78 days living outdoors in winter conditions, and quitting doesn’t even cross my mind.”

 

“I’m lucky to do something I’m so passionate about. Outward Bound has enabled me to combine my love for people and the wilderness into a career”

Jason Stout