In one workshop this spring a group of 22 students spent a weekend in the wild just south of Duluth. In smaller groups they rafted and kayaked on St. Louis River's whitewater, hiked in Jay Cooke State Park, and scrambled up the granite bluffs near Lake Superior. In the evening, the group prepared communal meals, shared stories of the day's challenges and tested each other's wit with camp games around a fire. Yet the courses are, as some discover the hard way, academically rigorous. Students also take written and practical exams and write papers to receive course credits.
Students finish the experience with a stronger belief in their own abilities.
Wright, who has 20 years of experience in outdoor education, is quick to point out that students also mature as a result of the class as they learn the important of interdependence. He notes that the students learn how to care for others while testing themselves. Then, it would seem, the possibilities are as limitless as human nature. President's Letter - Dr. Darrell W. Krueger Dear Alumni and Friends of Winona State University, The image of Winona State University is changing, and people all over the U.S., and even around the world, are noticing. In 1858, when Winona State was founded as the first teacher training institution west of the Mississippi, it was only the fourteenth such institution in the country.