Cecelia Reyes, of Fresno, had ne'er gone camping oregon adjacent traveled extracurricular of California. So erstwhile she went to Zion National Park arsenic portion of a Fresno State recreation medication course, it was much than conscionable an acquisition trip. It was a mode for her to conquer her fears and summation caller beingness skills successful the process.
That is conscionable 1 extremity of the “Recreation Administration 146: Adventure-based Programming” course, which prepares students with the skills and cognition needed for careers successful outdoor recreation. The semester-long people concluded with a travel to Zion, which is considered 1 of the astir scenic and adventurous nationalist parks successful the U.S., famed for its precocious plateaus, astonishing views and sweeping canyons.
On an aboriginal autumn morning, portion stars inactive lit up the nighttime sky, Reyes and her 10 classmates began their escapade 3 states distant successful Utah. They were among the archetypal radical of College of Health and Human Services students to usage the college’s caller van for transportation, with professor, Dr. Jason Whiting down the wheel. The 12-seater van, proudly inscribed with the Bulldogs insignia and Fresno State’s signature reddish and bluish colors, was purchased successful 2021 aft a generous acquisition from Chevron.
Students, unit and module are encouraged to usage the van for question to conferences, internships, unpaid events and experiential learning opportunities, arsenic good arsenic internships and probe purposes that volition heighten their acquisition endeavors. The extremity is to supply students with further hands-on learning experiences that volition amended hole them for careers successful the wellness and quality services fields.
Reyes and her classmates arrived astatine Zion astir 10 hours aboriginal to stunning views, but acheronian skies arsenic it was already nightfall. They acceptable up camp, acceptable for the escapade to travel the adjacent day. That archetypal night, temperatures dropped to a chilly 30 degrees – a clime Reyes was not utilized to.
“Dr. Whiting taught america to expect the unexpected,” Reyes said arsenic she reflected connected that archetypal night. “In bid to get retired of our comfortableness zone, we needed to larn to accommodate to our environment.”
Whiting added that conquering fears and the chartless is each portion of the conception of the course, which is conscionable 1 portion of the learning process.
The adjacent morning, the radical headed retired connected their archetypal outing, Emerald Pools. A bid of trails on this majestic parkland led to sparkling waterfalls and pools throughout. Later that day, immoderate of the students traversed the fashionable Angels Landing, known for its steep paths, immoderate which necessitate holding onto chains on the cliffside. For galore of those students, it was their archetypal acquisition hiking a way of that tallness and magnitude.
Each evening concluded with campside fires by their tents, which gave the radical an accidental to get to cognize each different deeper. Reyes said the quality to link and collaborate with her classmates was among the champion parts of the trip.
“Aside from class, we did not truly cognize each other,” Reyes said of her classmates. “So that’s wherefore making connections connected this travel was truthful important for me. By socializing with my classmates, we got to cognize each different amended which didn’t marque america consciousness truthful unsocial being truthful acold from home.”
Recreation Administration lecturer Ryan Soares said gathering connections is the astir beneficial instrumentality that experiential learning opportunities similar this provides. Along with Whiting, Soares teaches assorted outdoor courses (such arsenic stone climbing, backpacking successful the Sierra and the Yosemite acquisition to sanction a few). His students regularly utilize the van to question to their outdoor destinations. Most recently, his people utilized the van for a stone climbing excursion successful Wishon Reservoir astatine the celebrated Dr. Seuss Wall, astir 2 hours from Fresno State.
For galore students, impactful learning opportunities are recovered beyond the walls of a schoolroom oregon field setting. With assistance from Day of Giving donations designated to the College of Health and Human Services Experiential Opportunities Learning Fund connected March 26, students volition beryllium provided with question and admittance resources to entree experiential learning done internships, conferences, events and tract trips.
“I tin archer you from firsthand experience, traveling unneurotic has made the courses much accessible and made for a amended and much connected experience,” Soares said. “Typically, successful the aged days, students would person to fig retired however to get to locations connected their own, which added a furniture of accent and uncertainty to an already outside-your-comfort-zone experience. Now, they tin instrumentality that constituent retired of their worries and absorption connected the acquisition itself. Students enslaved implicit the car thrust and amusement up astatine the locations feeling a consciousness of assemblage adjacent earlier the acquisition begins.
“The van thrust becomes a portion of the experience, not conscionable a thrust to the location. They stock backgrounds, play games, empathize implicit upcoming midterms, swap euphony favorites and occasionally slumber connected each other’s enarthrosis aft a agelong time outside. It’s changed the experiences hands down.”
Fresno State’s yearly 24-hour, online Day of Giving volition beryllium Wednesday, March 26. The College of Health and Human Services relies connected backstage fiscal support, specified arsenic funds raised from the Day of Giving, to enactment experiential learning activities for students. For questions astir however to enactment wellness and quality services students, interaction Jeff Rickels astatine rickelsjeff@mail.fresnostate.edu oregon 559.278.3136.
