Outdoor Leadership
Bachelor of Arts Major & Minor
To discover how much we’re truly capable of, we only have to turn to Mother Nature. With Outdoor Leadership, the world becomes your classroom. You’ll learn how to test your body, mind, and soul in a program that’s part behavioral science, part leadership training, and part nature exploration and adventure.
Outdoor Leadership is more than technical skills training. This discipline combines outdoor skills such as backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, and rock climbing with skills in interpersonal communication, behavioral science, counseling, and leadership. You’ll become a leader who can analyze, plan, implement, administer, and supervise outdoor adventure education programs of all kinds.
Why study Outdoor Leadership at Warren Wilson?
- Be Certified: You’ll have the opportunity to earn certifications in a wide variety of outdoor fields including Wilderness First Responder and CPR.
- Opportunities for Leadership: You’ll have opportunities for leadership roles such as serving as a Teaching Assistant alongside a faculty member for field-based courses or leading a pre-orientation or weekend wilderness trip.
- Engage with Community: Lead an experience on our Alpine Tower for local school children, assist with hiking or climbing programs for people with disabilities, raise produce for hunger relief organizations, or help local organizations build capacity through leading team-building sessions.
- Immersive Outdoor Semester: Build your leadership and technical skills during an immersive, semester-long, outdoor adventure. Integrating your courses and work crew lets you be independent of competing demands. You’ll have deeper learning, travel away from campus, and make lasting connections with other students, faculty, and staff.
Every student will complete community-engaged coursework, an internship, and original research as part of their major
A Sample of Our Partnerships
- Evergreen Community Charter School
- French Broad River Academy
- Hinds’ Feet Farm
- Waypoint Adventures
- Root Cause Farm
See how Outdoor Leadership students put our education into action
Internship
Jocie Funderburk worked with Apogee Adventures leading the Pacific Coast Cycling Tour trip for teens. “One of my goals going into the summer internship was to develop certain leadership skills that I had identified in my Leadership of Adventure Education class. Through the experiences I had and relationships I built during my internship I not only achieved that goal but also was pushed as a leader and grew ways I never expected.”
Community Engaged Course
In our Team-Building and Group Facilitation course, you’ll learn the ropes of team-building and group facilitation, focusing on skills such as group development, lesson planning and delivery, processing, debriefing, and transference. After learning and practicing activities with each other, you’ll plan and implement team-building programs for local school groups.
Work
You can work on any crew as a student but many Outdoor Leadership majors choose to be on crews such as:
- Adventure Programs
- Cycling
- Wellness
- Outdoor Leadership Assistant
Study Away
In the course Environment, Culture & Adventure Travel in Armenia, students learned about adventure tourism and environmental education in Armenia. They worked with organizations building a long trail through the country and did community service work for villages along the trail, where it is hoped that hikers will bring an economic boost to local communities. They also visited with organizations doing conservation work and environmental education, and led games and activities for groups of local kids. They hiked to the top of the tallest mountain in the country, stayed with host families, learned about Armenian national dances and cuisine, and explored ancient monasteries and beautiful forests.
Senior Capstone
All Outdoor Leadership students identify a need, write a needs assessment, write goals and objectives, a marketing plan, an evaluation plan, a budget, a detailed schedule, trip plans, and design lesson plans to create a unique curriculum for the program.
Examples of this include:
- Using fly fishing to facilitate nature connection, teach conservation, and empower youth of color in Buncombe County in the outdoors
- 2nd-grade curriculum-based garden program in Downeast, Maine
- Whitewater Instructor Development Course
Popular Courses
Backcountry Skills and Techniques
Practice the skills you’ll need to become a great backcountry instructor. You’ll hone outdoor skills, practice using specialized equipment, learn safety and risk management techniques, and focus on group instruction in the outdoors. This course includes two weekend field experiences.
Natural Environments and Health
Why do we often feel better when we’re outside, near plants, or even just have a window to look outside? We’ll explore current research regarding human and natural environment interactions, with a focus on our relationship with the more-than-human natural world and how that relationship impacts collective health and wellbeing.
Leadership for Adventure Education
In this course, you’ll examine the theories, practices, and problems of leadership in outdoor adventure programming. You’ll consider your own leadership philosophy, strengths, and areas for growth as you engage in direct, first-hand experiences where you’ll be expected to plan and be in a leadership role in the classroom.
Jill Overholt, Ph.D.
Research Interests
- Health and Natural Landscapes
- Experiential Education in higher education contexts
- Parent-child relationship development through outdoor adventure
“It is through Warren Wilson students that my impact in this world is both magnified and transformed. I feel very fortunate to be a part of such an idealistic, compassionate, and hard-working community.”
Mallory McDuff, Ph.D.
Research Interests
- Involving faith communities in climate action
- Integrating local communities into environmental education
“The best part of the job is watching students graduate with a strong portfolio of experiences and find meaningful work connecting people to places.”
Justinn Steffe, MBA
Research Interests
- Behavioral Finance
- Real Estate Finance
- Diversity and Inclusion within College and Professional Sports
“This is a community where students, faculty and staff can explore a wide range of interests. It’s exciting to work with students on issues where they are passionate and help them fuse these interests with education, community engagement and work experience.”
Matt Vosler, Ph.D
Research Interests
- Creativity Development
- Mental Health and the Outdoors
- Compassion and Empathy Development
“Out of all of the schools and places I have had the honor to work, I have never experienced a sense of community like Warren Wilson. Not only is the campus beautiful, the community support and atmosphere here is unparalleled! I am happy to say that I have found my home! ”
Bruce Hills, M.A.S.
Research Interests
- Outdoor recreation and it’s meaning to people and their identity
“I enjoy working with students to create and run our programs, and seeing how they develop their confidence, leadership abilities and technical outdoor skills. Plus, we get to introduce our campus community to our beautiful mountains, rivers and lakes!”
Nora Randolph
Courses Taught
- ODL – 1250 Intro to Climbing
- ODL – 2350 Intermediate Climbing
“Warren Wilson students are adventurous, driven, and kind. It is a privilege to teach such inspiring people in such a beautiful place. ”
“I went to school at Warren Wilson and got to explore not only my academic interests, but my outdoor interests as well. I learned to paddle here, among other things, and I love being back giving folks the chance to explore and experience the outdoors in the setting I fell in love with these activities.”
Michelle Tuday
Research Interests
- Outdoor Experiential Ed in Community
- Fostering compassion in others
- Traditional Rock Climbing
“I love working at Wilson because of the opportunities it provides students to explore, grow and understand themselves better. ”
“Joy, laughter, and play are woven into all I do as a result of my course work. I learned most in the moments of deep belly laughter on the challenge course or in the library with my classmates while writing our program plans.”
Parker Farthing
(he/him)
Assistance Dean of Advising and Director of Instructional Technology at Hampshire College
Major, Minor, Concentration, Crews
- Outdoor Leadership Major
- Education Minor
- Crews: Computing Services, Residence Life, Student Caucus, Landscaping, and Orientation
Ryan Kingrey
(he/they)
Program Director with The North Carolina Outward Bound School
Major, Minor, Concentration, Crews
- Environmental Studies Major
- Outdoor Leadership Minor
- Crews: Athletics, Admissions, Garden
“I have used my Outdoor Leadership degree daily since I graduated in 2008. From hard-skills in technical outdoor pursuits to critical leadership and business tools, my studies prepared me well to succeed in the outdoor recreation industry. Furthermore my time working in the Auto Shop and on Heavy Duty gave me critical job skills and how to operate in a workplace which are essential no matter what field someone enters into after college.”
Pat Addabbo
(he/him)
Executive Director, Oregon Adaptive Sports
Major, Minor, Concentration, Crews
- Double Major in Outdoor Leadership and History
- Crews: Heavy Duty, Auto Shop
Where Our Outdoor Leadership Graduates Go
- North Carolina Outward Bound School (NCOBS)
- Eagles Nest Foundation
- French Broad River Academy
- Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness
- SOAR / The Academy at SOAR
- Prescott College Masters in Outdoor Leadership
- Masters in Occupational Therapy, Appalachian State
