By Mike Shands High Country youths looking to learn more about outdoor adventure will want to attend a meeting this week at Appalachian State University. The program uses outdoor adventure education and service to others as major themes to develop leadership skills and teamwork. Outdoor adventure education has long been recognized as a powerful vehicle for helping young people build self esteem, a strong service ethic, physical and mental fitness and a greater appreciation for the natural world. These types of trips create opportunities for members to learn lifelong lessons about themselves and how to work in a group. Weekend trips and extended trips are often quite adventurous with tough challenges.
Participants feel a strong sense of satisfaction after completing the goal.
Members learn valuable lessons about being self-sufficient as a team and about working together to achieve an objective by cooperating, listening, following and leading. Participants develop discipline from tasks such as waking up early, cooking breakfast, packing up and putting in the mileage to reach that day's goal. They gain confidence from personal skill mastery. It originally targeted 25 boys and girls ages 13 to 18. The original unit maintains approximately 50 members along with a growing list of graduates, many of whom still participate in summer expeditions while in college.