Expedition Courses

THE NOLS EXPERIENCE

Find yourself here!

We believe positive ethical leaders change the world.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

3 6NOLS

8 9Your First Day Gear Up Nature is a Great Teacher World-class Instructors

13 15

17 19 22 26 27 30

33 35 37 41 43 45

The NOLS Curriculum

Learn By Doing Class Time Environmental Studies Risk Management Wilderness Medicine Fine Dining

Culture Emerge a Leader Your Student Expedition Your NOLS Diploma You’ll Be Changed Start Your NOLS Experience

Cover Photo Ben Fox / NOLS Patagonia

NOLS, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational institution, operates under permit and in partnership with the USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state organizations, and international land management agencies. See a complete list of our operating areas online at: www.nols.edu/operatingareas.

Founded in 1965 by legendary mountaineer Paul Petzoldt, NOLS has grown from an idea to an institution. A NOLS expedition is an adventure, an education, and hands-on leadership training. Alongside your coursemates, you’ll move through some of the world’s most awe-inspiring terrain and progress through a curriculum we’ve meticulously developed for the past 50 years.

We invite you to get a taste of the NOLS experience in the following pages, then find your own adventure at www.nols.edu. We offer 122 different course options, and nearly 1,000 courses go into the field each year. NOLS has a course that will meet your interests and fit your schedule.

Whether you are a high school student seeking a summer or gap year experience to grow and discover, you are a college student looking for a semester outside the classroom, or you are well into your career seeking to develop your leadership skills, NOLS will satisfy your needs.

Enjoy small classes, an instructor-to-student ratio of 1:5, and highly personalized instruction. Our instructors are the best in the industry, and all NOLS courses are approved for academic credit.

Like any school, tuition involves a significant commitment. NOLS offers $1.7 million in scholarships each year to help defray those costs.

3 www.nols.edu | (800) 710-6657

42.8331˚ N 108.7325˚ WNOLS Archives / NOLS Rocky Mountain

Paul Petzoldt, NOLS founder

NOLS is committed to building a diverse community that is inclusive of people from all backgrounds, regardless of race, ethnicity, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, marital status, or veteran status.

4NOLS: The Leader in Wilderness Education

Centrally Administered, Locally OperatedCurriculum, admissions, and faculty staffing all happen at our headquarters in Lander, Wyoming. Course logistics and gear outfitting take place at each location with staff who live in and understand the region. You’ll get the same high-quality experience wherever you go with regionally tailored services and education.

NOLS Alaska

NOLS Yukon

NOLS Pacific Northwest NOLS Teton Valley

NOLS Rocky MountainWyss Wilderness Medicine Campus

NOLS Northeast

NOLS Southwest

NOLS Mexico

NOLS Patagonia

NOLS East Africa

NOLS India

NOLS Australia

NOLS New Zealand

NOLS Scandinavia

45.5667˚ S 72.0667˚ WAlex Chang - Cornell Leadership Expedition / NOLS Patagonia

You’ll jump right in and go through gear with

your instructor.

6Your First Day

48.3408˚ N 122.3436˚ WBrad Christensen / NOLS Pacific Northwest

YOUR FIRST DAYThis isn’t your standard first day of classes! When you arrive at your NOLS campus, you’ll meet your coursemates and your instructors in an exciting, small-group setting. You’ll grab a meal together and go over the general route and plan for your expedition. You and your instructors will make sure you’re fully equipped for a successful expedition and organize your food for the next seven to 135 days. Your first day is a busy one as you and your coursemates wrap your heads around all that this adventure will encompass and share your excitement for your NOLS experience.

7 www.nols.edu | (800) 710-6657

Helping students think about, organize, and pack their gear at the beginning of a course is the perfect opportunity to develop relationships and ease tensions before embarking for the field. An introductory knowledge of gear and a shared enthusiasm for the places through which you’ll be traveling goes a long way in setting the stage for a successful, multi-week expedition.”

Jared Steinman, NOLS instructor

The NOLS windpants, a classic on any course

8Gear Up

42.8331˚ N 108.7325˚ WKirk Rasmussen / NOLS Rocky Mountain

The Banks Fry-Bake was invented by NOLS instructor

Pam Banks and has been making delicious meals since 1977.

On your first day, you will meet one-on-one with your instructor and go through your gear for suitability. From there, it is off to the issue room where our gear experts will fill in any gaps with new or rental gear. NOLS equipment rooms are stocked with high quality, highly durable gear. Many items are custom designed for NOLS courses to meet the needs of extended expeditions, course after course. We’ll make sure you’re set up for success.

GEAR UP

NATURE ISA GREAT TEACHER

At NOLS, we believe living in nature teaches responsibility. While exploring these vast, wild classrooms, you will get real and immediate feedback on the decisions you make. Packing your rain jacket at the bottom of your backpack on a cloudy day could leave you wet and cold. In addition to technical and leadership skills, NOLS’ awe-inspiring classrooms teach us about the world. Your sense of the world—and your place within it—will become clear.

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Stewards of Your ClassroomsSince 1965, our students have traveled the globe to the most incredible classrooms in the world. And since then, we have constantly strived to minimize the footprint we leave. For example, in 1990, NOLS partnered with the U.S. Forest Service to develop Leave No Trace (LNT) curriculum. Over the years, our efforts to protect the wild spaces NOLS students depend on have become increasingly important—and challenging. As NOLS grads, we’re up to that challenge.

Especially in an age of such rampant technology and development, I find it crucial to reunite with the wilderness, connect with others through phenomenal teamwork, and rely on nothing but your own instincts and abilities. I think it’s exhilarating to navigate with a map and compass, immerse yourself amongst majestic mountains and rivers, and truly understand the place of humans in the world. I can confidently say that NOLS was the best experience of my life.”

Becky Mares, Brooks Range Backpacking–Prime ‘13, Pacific Lutheran University

26.8917˚ N 111.9808˚ WKatie Duntley / NOLS Mexico

10Nature is a Great Teacher

NOLS courses may take place in “natural” classrooms, but the lessons learned transcend walls, mountains, rivers and international borders.” Susan Genatossio, NOLS parent of Travis Genatossio, Semester in Patagonia ‘02, University of New Hampshire

46.6667˚ S 73.9167˚ WFredrik Norrsell / NOLS Patagonia

“Human beings are the most interesting things in the world. They’re so complex. In hiking through the deep wilderness, for many hours in a row, day after day, week after week, you have time to learn about people—to ask them questions, to listen to them talk,” Ariel said. His penchant for building rapport with students through intimate conversation is one reason he received the Thomas Plotkin Instructor Mentorship Award. “It’s like just talking to him makes me a little smarter,” one student said of this Columbia grad.

Sarah has a background in fire suppression, outdoor education, wilderness medicine, and, most recently, environmental policy and cam-paigning. She studied environmental science and biology at the University of Oregon, where she was an AmeriCorps volunteer in outdoor education. She joined the NOLS field faculty in 2011 and began instructing for the NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute in 2012. Sarah resides in Bend, Oregon. She loves mountain biking, fishing, backpacking, and has aspira-tions to someday own a dog named Cody.

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ARIEL GREENE SARAH CUDDY

Ariel Greene Brad Christensen Sarah Cuddy Courtesy of Sarah Cuddy Clair Parrish Kirk Rasmussen Jamie Musnicki Fredrik Norrsell Marcio Paes-Baretto Kirk Rasmussen Madhu Chikkaraju Tony Jewell

Meet a Few of the 600+ NOLS Instructors...

NOLS instructors masterfully facilitate the lessons nature can teach us. You will learn quickly in the field with your instructor’s insight and oversight—a potent blend of hands-on learning and reflection.

NOLS has the most experienced, well-rounded instructional staff in outdoor education. More than 600 field instructors work for the school, with an average of 58 weeks teaching and camping for NOLS. Our instructors come from diverse backgrounds and hometowns, and they start their NOLS careers by taking a NOLS instructor course and then serving as apprentices on NOLS courses. All instructors are certified in wilderness medicine and CPR, and many take advantage of continuing education, including 50 instructor seminars each year and the annual NOLS Faculty Summit.

INSTRUCTORSWORLD-CLASS

Marcio Paes-Barreto has been working in leadership development and experiential edu-cation for the past 12 years. He now works for NOLS as an instructor with a focus on medical training and certification. His extensive NOLS instructing experience includes backpacking, sea kayaking, Wilderness EMT, and Wilderness First Responder courses. He grew up in Brazil, where he studied industrial engineering at the Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica Celso Suckow da Fonseca. He now lives in NOLS’ hometown of Lander, Wyoming, with his family.

MARCIO PAES-BARRETTO

Jaime earned her bachelor’s degree in ecology at Dartmouth College before becoming a NOLS instructor. She taught her first NOLS course in 2003 and has since accumulated 240 weeks in the field instructing expedition courses. She has also done the demanding work of program supervisor at NOLS Teton Valley, NOLS Pacific Northwest, NOLS Rocky Mountain, and NOLS Alaska. Jaime is currently the executive direc-tor of the American Avalanche Association, and she still enjoys teaching in the field and in the classroom for NOLS.

14World-class Instructors

JAIME MUSNICKI

Clair works both in town and in the field for NOLS. She is a program supervisor at NOLS Rocky Mountain in Lander, Wyoming, as well as an experienced field instructor. Clair earned her bachelor’s degree in biology and master’s in elementary education from the University of Virginia and went on to become an elementary school teacher. She instructed her first NOLS course in 2004 and later moved to Lander, bringing her passion for teaching and the outdoors to the office, as well as to 180 weeks of instructing courses in the field.

CLAIR PARRISH

Meet a Few of the 600+ NOLS Instructors...

Madhu has accumulated 190 weeks of teaching in the backcountry as a NOLS instructor. A native of Bangalore, India, he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Bangalore University. He likes to teach his students how to pack their backpacks using Bollywood dance moves. Madhu was part of NOLS’ Expedition Denali, the first predominantly African American team to attempt to summit North America’s tallest peak. Find some of his stunning photographs of NOLS expeditions on the NOLS Instagram account.

MADHU CHIKKARAJU

15 www.nols.edu | (800) 710-6657

NOLS’ unrivalled curriculum is informed by 50 years of development and dedicated research. Recent research has explored topics such as educational outcomes, instructional techniques, risk management practices, wilderness medicine, and environmental studies.

Our focused research and curriculum department is dedicated to empowering students to get the best possible education in ways that the lessons will endure for years after returning from the field. NOLS frequently partners with the University of Utah in our research.

“NOLS remains an exemplar in wilderness education research, and its efforts are widely respected and emulated,” notes Jim Sibthorp, Ph.D. and professor and director of Graduate Studies at the University of Utah Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism.

CURRICULUMTHE NOLS

16The NOLS Curriculum

After explaining the curriculum to my university, they agreed to grant me plenty of elective credits and credit for an honors science lab. Writers and actresses need to experience our wild world to make the observations and feel the things that lead to creating art.”

Elsa Guenther, Spring Semester in New Zealand ‘13, DePaul University

43.7253˚ N 111.1061˚ WCraig Muderlak / NOLS Teton Valley

LEARN BY DOINGOn every NOLS course, you will develop foundational skills essential to any backcountry experience: leadership, risk management, wilderness medicine, equipment care, ration planning and cooking, staying warm and dry, navigation, campsite selection, and much more—all by actually performing the skills. You will develop mastery by practicing these skills frequently from day one over the course of an extended NOLS expedition.

Depending on the course you select, you will also become skilled in that particular mode of travel and familiar with that region.

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ROCK CLIMBING

CANYONEERING

RAFTING/KAYAKING

SAILING

BACKPACKING PACKRAFTING

18Learn By Doing

MOUNTAINEERING SKIING/SNOWBOARDING

HORSEPACKING

SEA KAYAKING

CANOEING

LIGHTWEIGHT BACKPACKING

WILDERNESS MEDICINE

Backpacking Madhu Chikkaraju / NOLS India Sailing Alisha Bube / NOLS Mexico Rafting/Kayaking TC Rammelkamp / NOLS India Rock Climbing David Anderson / NOLS Southwest Canyoneering Cody Brundidge / NOLS Rocky Mountain Packrafting Nate Shoutis / NOLS Alaska Canoeing Stéphane Terrier / NOLS Alaska Mountaineering Pascal Beauvais / NOLS Yukon Wilderness Medicine Michael Trewartha / NOLS Rocky Mountain Lightweight Backpacking Matthew McArdle / NOLS Southwest Skiing/Snowboarding Pascal Beauvais / NOLS Teton Valley Sea Kayaking Lena Conlan / NOLS Scandinavia Horsepacking Kelsey Wicks / NOLS Rocky Mountain

CLASS TIMEIn addition to learning by doing, you’ll also have traditional classes on many days of your course. Usually less than 45 minutes and always in a beautiful setting, these classes range from a spontaneous midday lesson on plant identification or biology to a reflective, in-depth conversation about a specific aspect of leadership. Sitting in a meadow for a discussion on ethics or engaging in an activity-based communication class on the beach isn’t exactly typical of a classroom lecture. Your NOLS classes may start your day to set you up for success or end the day as an opportunity to reflect upon and solidify the day’s lessons.

48.3408˚ N 122.3436˚ WBen Lester / NOLS Pacific Northwest

NOLS icon George Newberry, teaching since 1970

NOLS pulled me away from the fabricated reality of a college student: read, write, revise, submit. Through NOLS I was exposed to a world that stressed a simpler, and more fulfilling, existence. Out there, life wasn’t about word problems and differential equations; it was about the essentials. It changed my perspective.”

Nick Memmer, Alaska Outdoor Educator ‘11, Western Washington University

20Class Time

42.8331˚ N 108.7325˚ WJared Steinman / NOLS Rocky Mountain

21 www.nols.edu | (800) 710-6657

NOLS taught me the power of working as a team to get where you’re going. Over the last 20 years, my key focus has been on working with groups around a common conservation vision through collaborative efforts. NOLS gave me the skills to work well on a team and be a good leader, as well as a good follower, and empower groups to accomplish shared objectives.”

Jamie Williams, Semester in the Rockies ‘84, President of The Wilderness Society

68.3500˚ N 18.8167˚ EFredrik Norrsell / NOLS Scandinavia

60.7167˚ N 135.0500˚ WStéphane Terrier / NOLS Yukon

22Environmental Studies

No matter where you find yourself on your NOLS course, you’ll come into a thorough understanding of the environment you inhabit. The NOLS environmental studies curriculum is consistent across the NOLS course mix, and we then build region-specific and timely lessons for each course offering. Get to know your world!

STUDIESENVIRONMENTAL

We want them to use the education to be leaders in their community with an understanding of ecology and conservation for the wild outdoors far beyond their legislators back home. We expect these people to be a grain of sand on the beach of future leadership.” Paul Petzoldt, NOLS founder

41.2708˚ S 173.2839˚ EFredrik Norrsell / NOLS New Zealand

This week Samantha got back her first college essay, and the topic she decided on was risk management. Samantha said the words just flowed after all her NOLS experiences. Her English professor praised her on the paper topic and content, and called it “brilliant.” What a compliment! Her rich NOLS experiences provided her with a wealth of material, lessons, and memories to draw from.

Karen Cook, NOLS parent of Samantha Cook, Semester in Baja ‘13, Western Carolina University

42.8331˚ N 108.7325˚ WRainbow Weinstock / NOLS Rocky Mountain

25 www.nols.edu | (800) 710-6657

RISK MANAGEMENTNOLS is not a survival school. We teach wilderness skills and leadership so you can thrive in the most challenging conditions—whether in a blizzard on the side of the mountain or an innovative entrepreneurial endeavor. Because of the careful, informed logistical planning on the part of faculty and staff, you won’t find yourself in “survival” situations. Instead, your knowledgeable instructors will teach you to recognize, assess, and mitigate the risks inherent to any outdoor travel. Skills like judgment and decision making and leadership in high-stakes settings will come through for you for the rest of your life.

Risk Assessment Sometimes it is okay to take risks, but only if the likelihood of a serious accident is very low. Knowing that things can and do go wrong is part of good judgment. Seeing how they might go wrong and adjusting accordingly is risk management.

61.6019˚ N 149.1172˚ WNacho Grez / NOLS Alaska

26Risk Management

27 www.nols.edu | (800) 710-6657

39.3881˚ N 113.3164˚ WTim Doyle / NOLS Rocky Mountain

We teach wilderness medicine on every NOLS course, and the NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute is the leader in wilderness medicine education. Your risk management education will encompass not only recognition and management of risk, but also the most appropriate response in the case of a medical emergency—skills essential in the frontcountry as well as the backcountry.

MEDICINE

WILDERNESSPractice your

wilderness medicine skills in hands-on, staged scenarios!

28Wilderness Medicine

42.8331˚ N 108.7325˚ WBrad Christensen / NOLS Rocky Mountain

Since my Wilderness First Responder course, I have dedicated my life to the service of others in a time of crisis. I attended EMT school, then later finished my degree in human services with a concentration in emergency medicine, earning my paramedic certification. I’m currently a paramedic. I recently went to Nicaragua for two weeks to work in mobile clinics with Project C.U.R.E., which supplies third-world-countries with medical supplies to treat chronically ill people in rural areas. Soon, I will start a new career for Fairfax Fire and Rescue in Northwest Virginia. I owe my current life to my first WFR course. Thank you for giving my life meaning and value!”

Arthur Bruck, Wilderness First Responder ‘08, University of Oregon

48.8328˚ N 121.3475˚ WBen Fox / NOLS Pacific Northwest

60.7167˚ N 135.0500˚ WStéphane Terrier / NOLS Yukon

61.6019˚ N 149.1172˚ WTracy Baynes - STEP / NOLS Alaska

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FINE DININGNutrition is essential to performing at your best in the backcountry. Taste is key to enjoying every possible moment of an adventure. On your NOLS course, you will learn how to cook delicious, nutritious meals of your choice from real, bulk ingredients. You’ll learn about what your body needs and how to prepare the fuel for your experience. If you can prepare it in the wilderness, think what you can cook at home!

Yes, you’ll eat what you carry on your back. But we won’t make you carry all of it from the start. At pre-determined times throughout the course, we’ll bring a new stockpile to you and take your trash out for you—by horseback, plane, etc. We call these re-rations. You’ll have more than enough supplies to enjoy hot cocoa and pizza in the most picturesque dining rooms in the world.

60.7167˚ N 135.0500˚ WStéphane Terrier / NOLS Yukon

A re-ration in action

‘Why do you climb mountains?’ I love the physical exertion. I love the wind. I love the storms. I love the fresh air. I love the companionship in the outdoors. I love the reality. I love the change. I love the rejuvenating spirit. I love to feel oneness with nature.” Paul Petzoldt, NOLS founder

49.7017˚ N 123.1588˚ WJohn Sink / NOLS Pacific Northwest

CULTUREGet to know the world. Travel with local liaisons, live with local families, study human history where it actually happened. Many international courses feature a cultural section that will give you a deeper understanding of your world.

45.5667˚ S 72.0667˚ WNacho Grez / NOLS Patagonia

Yerba mate, a traditional South

American tea

34Culture

Immersion in a culture different to one’s own can be expansive. The opportunity to interact with the rancheros and pangeros (ranchers and fisherman) in la Sierra de San Francisco and el Mar de Cortés throughout my semester opened my eyes to the beauty of a simple lifestyle. Family, work, animals, reliable fresh water. These are what matter, what keep people healthy and joyful.

Larkin Flora, Spring Semester in Baja ‘07, Lewis and Clark College

28.6139˚ N 77.2090˚ EPascal Beauvais / NOLS India

6.3070˚ S 34.8540˚ EMichael Schmertzler / NOLS East Africa

17.9619˚ S 122.2361˚ ECass Colman / NOLS Australia

35 www.nols.edu | (800) 710-6657

EMERGE A LEADERIn the early days of your course, the roles of instructor and student are clearly defined with instructors role-modeling the leadership you’ll be able to demonstrate by course end. As you develop competence, knowledge, and leadership, you will assume more and more responsibility. You will take on the role of leader of the day more than once during this progression. Your instructors will slowly transition from leading to coaching—often allowing you to make mistakes so you can learn from them. By the end of your course, you and your group will likely earn the opportunity to travel without instructors for several days to solidify and put to the test all that you have learned during your course.

68.3500˚ N 18.8167˚ EFredrik Norrsell / NOLS Scandinavia

36Emerge a Leader

Learning about different leadership styles, trying other leadership styles, and being placed in the role of being leader were highly effective in learning about group dynamics and how to be efficient. It was challenging at times to be a leader, and even more challenging at times to not be, but in the end it created many learning opportunities being in both roles. This trip had an impact on the ways I communicate with family, friends, co-workers, strang-ers, and how I constantly strive to be intentional in my words and actions.”

Jacob Jensen, Wilderness Medicine Expedition ‘14, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria

48.8328˚ N 121.3475˚ WJamie O’Donnell / NOLS Pacific Northwest

As the final week of your course nears, you will have progressed from reliant on your instructors to self-reliant with your own extensive outdoor and leadership skills. By demonstrating this competency, you may earn the culminating expe-rience of the student expedition: several days of travel in a small student group without instructors. At this point in the course, we trust our students to lead themselves and our curriculum progression is designed to develop the necessary knowledge and tools to achieve this. The student expedition solidifies skills, strengthens confidence in your abilities, and will stay with you forever.

YOUR STUDENT EXPEDITION

38Your Student Expedition

The first four days of our student group expedition we got POURED on. Everything in our packs was soaked despite our waterproofing techniques. As we climbed higher and higher the rain turned into a freezing, windy rain that pelted us in the face constantly. Our campsites were continuously washed out and we had to improvise many times. We were so excited when we got to the top of the peak. We had made it! We all started screaming at the top of our lungs in joy, and to anyone watching we probably looked insane. The student expedition was such a defining moment in my semester because I really learned how to push past my limits and do it with a smile on my face.”

Casey Blum, Semester in the Pacific Northwest ‘08, current NOLS instructor

42.8331˚ N 108.7325˚ WSarah Annarella / NOLS Rocky Mountain

44.4350° N 74.2522° WHannah Darrin / NOLS Northeast

60.7167˚ N 135.0500˚ WStéphane Terrier / NOLS Yukon

The experience of being with the same people 24/7 for three months is a journey in and of itself, I went home with 15 new friends. When you can exchange a glance with someone and burst out laughing, you know you’ve made a deep connection.”Samantha Damsky, Semester in Amazon ‘12, Appalachian State University

41 www.nols.edu | (800) 710-6657

A NOLS course is a fun, experiential, and rigorous education. At the conclusion of your course, you will get a formal evaluation—with grades—based on your performance and your growth. Because of the quality of education NOLS offers, you can earn academic credit on any NOLS course. You will also earn a NOLS diploma, the leadership certification employers value. Additional certifications you may acquire through your course include Leave No Trace Master, CPR, Wilderness First Aid (WFA), Wilderness First Responder (WFR), Wilderness EMT (WEMT), Swiftwater Rescue, Rock Rescue, and Level 1 Avalanche.

DIPLOMAYOUR NOLS

61.6019˚ N 149.1172˚ WNacho Grez / NOLS Alaska

42Your NOLS Diploma

The leadership curriculum helped Nora to grow in a va-riety of different ways. Some I expected, but many, many others came as a wonderful surprise. Nora is pursuing a major in international development and global environ-mental studies at Clark University—interests that were strengthened by her NOLS experience. She has applied for a staff position at the Green Mountain Conservation Camp for the summer and hopes to be a Dorm Resi-dent Advisor at Clark next year. The leadership skills she gained during NOLS were cited in her applications and greatly discussed during her interviews.”

Celia Oliver, NOLS parent of Nora Oliver, Semester in the Southwest ‘09, Clark University

$1.7 Million in Scholarships Each Year

If you demonstrate the desire and potential to excel on a NOLS course, we want you to do just that. NOLS awards more than $1.7 million in scholarship funds every year. NOLS scholarship s can cover up to half of your semester tuition. Furthermore, NOLS has done extensive work to provide access to outside financial aid, including veteran benefits, federal financial aid, AmeriCorps stipends, your family’s 529 college savings funds , and more.

When you are back home and your clothes once again smell of laundry detergent instead of fresh air and rain and the outdoors, when sleeping in a tent becomes just a memory and you start planning your next adven-

ture, this is when you begin to really appreciate just how much NOLS has given you.

I signed up for a 25 and over rafting trip in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I’d never been to Alas-ka, and the opportunity to see the Refuge was just too much to pass up. For two weeks I rafted, hiked, camped, cooked, and learned in and about one of the most beautiful places on Earth. And when it was over I was ready to head back and start it all again.

If you have never been to the Refuge, you should go. There are no roads, no trails, no signs, no build-ings, and no people. Nothing grows tall—the growing season passes in a blink of an eye—but the sky and the landscape are wide open. My life was not. When I got back to my ‘other’ life, as a collegiate coach, I knew things had to change.

Within a week of returning from Alaska, I walked into the athletic director’s office and let him know I was leaving at the end of the school year. Honestly I had no idea what I wanted to do next; I just knew that I had breathed in fully for the first time in years and I wanted more of it. In the end, it was the environment that guided me to Vermont Law School to study environmental

law. I loved law school, and I loved learning about the statutes that protect places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

After I took the bar exam, when friends were taking trips to places with sun, sand, and surf, I was on my second NOLS course mountaineering on Mount Baker in Washington. There was certainly sun. And snow. And when it was over, I headed to my job at a Washington D.C. law firm with clear eyes and a focus on the future.

I think of NOLS as my touchstone on making sure I’m heading the right way in life. It was there to point me to a career that I am passionate about, and then it reminded me why I chose that career in the first place. These days I’m in policy work, and I love it. I work in a place where I am asked to create solutions and oppor-tunities in a realm that can be frustrating. But after be-ing snowbound in a tent on Mount Baker for three days waiting for a snowstorm to pass, when you can finally stretch—bleary eyed and stiff—and face into the sun, you remember why you are there in the first place. And it’s a wonderful feeling.

Alison Share is the legislative director for Rep. Dan Kildee, handling the congressman’s work on the House Financial Services Committee. Prior to joining Rep. Kildee’s staff, Alison worked as an associate at Crowell & Moring in the public policy group. She also clerked for Judge Peter Hall on the Second Circuit Court of Ap-peals. Alison received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Vermont Law School.

YOU’LL BECHANGED

A Wonderful FeelingAlison Share, 25 and Over Brooks Range Rafting ‘0423 and Over North Cascades Mountaineering ‘08

43 www.nols.edu | (800) 710-6657

NOLS really helped him to grow up a bit more, to go to college more committed. He was doing something more pertinent to his life experience, enthusiasms, and passions. It’s all just totally changed for him because of his NOLS semester.”

Diane Hughes, NOLS parent of Pat Hughes, Wind River Wilderness ‘07 & Semester in the Pacific Northwest ‘08

48.7773˚ N 121.8132˚ WMadhu Chikkaraju / NOLS Pacific Northwest

START YOUR

NOLS EXPERIENCENOLS courses fit into the aspirations, schedules, and interests of all kinds of people with experiences ranging from an unrivaled summer during high school or a semester to kick off your gap year to a course to help you forward your career in outdoor education or elsewhere. Whether 14, 75, or somewhere in between, NOLS offers a course that will suit you, chal-lenge you, and stay with you.

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46Start Your NOLS Experience

Semester and Year CoursesA NOLS semester is an extended, in-depth education in leadership, outdoor skills, and awe. You will travel the world, dive deep into the theory and application of leadership, study the environment and culture of the region, and master a varied set of technical skills.

Adventure Courses: 14–15 onlyNOLS Adventure courses are designed for 14- to 15-year-old students. For two weeks to a month, you’ll be with students your own age, building relationships that will last a lifetime.

Classic CoursesNo organization offers expeditions that are longer or more remote than NOLS. Earn the bragging rights, leadership skills, and outdoor expertise of a month-long expedition in the wilderness.

Career CoursesRecognizing its role as “teacher of teachers”, NOLS offered its first course specifically for outdoor educators more than three decades ago, and the school is the worldwide leader in this field.

Prime Courses: 23 and overYou’re in the prime of your life, and these courses are designed to meet your needs. NOLS does all the planning so you can enjoy the expedition and gain new skills without all the prep work.

NOLS Professional TrainingNOLS Professional Training offers innovative, customized courses for organizations, focusing on any aspect of NOLS core curricula—leadership, technical skills, risk management, or environmental studies.

VISIT WWW.NOLS.EDU45.5667˚ S 72.0667˚ WJuan Queirolo / NOLS Pagatonia

28.6139˚ N 77.2090˚ EMarcelo Mascareño / NOLS India

National Outdoor Leadership School284 Lincoln StreetLander, Wyoming 82520-2848www.nols.edu | admissions@nols.eduPhone: (800) 710-6657 | Fax: (307) 332-1220