We talk with with Bobby O’Connor, Northwood School’s new Northwood Outing Club Director, about outdoor education, adventuring, and updating the historic Northwood Outing Club for a new generation of Northwood students.
Listen to the Audio Interview Here
John: Hi, I'm John Maher and I'm here today with Robert O'Connor the new Northwood outing club director, overseeing outdoor education and adventure program. And today we're talking about the Northwood outing club and outdoor education. Welcome Bobby.
Robert O’Connor: Hey John. Thanks for having me.
Bobby O’Connor’s Background in Outdoor Education
John: Sure. So Bobby, tell me a little bit about your background in outdoor education.
Bobby: Yeah, so I kind of figured from a young age that I wanted to kind of pursue something in the outdoor industry, grew up skiing and then started climbing in high school. And I think the sport of climbing really what started to guide my track towards the outdoors. And honestly, when I was a naive 17, 18 year old kid, all I wanted to do was climb Everest. So I started looking at college programs that would help me kind of pursue that and there weren't a ton back then, but I found a program at SUNY Plattsburgh called expeditionary studies, and it was right up my alley where they focused on climbing, paddling and skiing. I applied, they accepted me and went through four years in undergrad.
And right when I finished undergrad, they had a master's program that started up. So I hopped into that and continued my focus with studies of expeditions and focusing on paddle sports and back country skiing and avalanche awareness, and rock and ice climbing, and mountaineering.
So during that period in the masters program, I got to plan and execute a number of really cool and unique grips. And while I was kind of finishing up that I started adjunct teaching at Paul Smith's college. And right when I finished my masters, they had a full-time instructor position open up and I applied there too. I interviewed and they accepted, and I started teaching in their recreation department within the realm of outdoor living skills, paddling, climbing, and skiing, everything I was studying in school, and kind of slowly worked up the ranks and became the adventure education coordinator at the college.
And that last six years I've been there teaching curriculum in the adventure sports realm and running a lot of trips with students, both within the United States and internationally we've been going out west for climbing and skiing trips every year. We took 18 students to Nepal and the part of the Annapurna circuit. So there's a lot of really cool and exciting opportunities with the college here and I'm hoping to bring that kind of mentality and energy over to Northwood School and continue that with Northwood students.
John: When you were in high school and looking at colleges, was it one of those situations where when you're younger, you sort of picture yourself in a job, where everybody sort of pictures themselves in an office job or something like that. And they maybe don't even realize that you could make a career out of doing some of the things that you love, like being in the outdoors and doing adventure trips and things like that. Was that the case?
Bobby: Yeah, for sure. I definitely knew I was not cut out for an office job and that's not to say that the job that I'm doing currently doesn't have office time. It's just, it's not a nine to five, every day in the office. I really get to choose when I want to spend time indoors. And I get a lot of field time, which is exactly what was up my alley. And when I was looking for programs, I mean, I think maybe now that I'm immersed in the adventure world, I noticed these opportunities more, but I would say when I was starting to look, it was kind of scarce where there wasn't a ton of recreation programs. And it seems like it's grown a bit since then.
John: Yeah. So what brings you from Paul Smith's college, which is not far from Northwood School; what made you sort of make the switch now to Northwood School and to teaching high school students?
Bobby: I think there are a number of different components. The main component, I think, is I'm really excited to have the opportunity to build upon the program at Northwood. And I think for anyone that is wanting to teach these kinds of experiences and share your passion with the students, it's really unique to kind of have a blank slate to start all these different initiatives, and classes, and certification opportunities. So that's what excites me the most is really getting to, I mean, I'm not saying I'm starting this from scratch because there's plenty of faculty members that have been doing this there and building upon their outdoor club and just their adventure ed programs in general.
And Don Miller has like, he's the main component there as far as I know in really getting this going and doing pretty much two jobs to get this up and running. So I'm just really excited to have that opportunity to run with this program and do some really neat and kind of cool trips. And they provide some really great experiences for the students.
The Role of Outdoor Education in the Lives of Students
John: Right. And like you said, those high school students are coming into a school, maybe never having been or spent a lot of time in the outdoors and certainly never doing like, backpacking trips and kayaking and things like that, that you're going to be teaching them. So that's a really great opportunity. What role do you feel like outdoor education really plays in the lives of high school students?
Bobby: I mean, I think it can really play a main role in whatever your long-term goals are as a student. It's a strong component of developing critical thinking or thinking in action, and I think that's one of the aspects I really most. You need to really take the time to plan and develop all the logistics to make these kinds of trips and activities happen safely. So whatever your goals are long-term, if you're participating in some form of this biotic program or adventure activities, you're going to learn how to work with a number of different people. You're going to learn how to do some dynamic decision-making, you're really going to start building leadership skills, good teamwork skills, you're going to fail, which is a great way of learning and bettering yourself.
And you're also going to succeed, which is a great feeling obviously, and it's kind of addictive and you want to get back and you want to keep succeeding. But you're going to just continue to develop yourself as a human and you're not going to become stagnant. You're going to want to continue to maybe push your levels depending on what you're doing in school, or at home, or for your future college application, or job market, whatever it is. I think it's going to have a strong component of this making you a more productive community member.
Activities in the Adirondack Park
John: And tell me a little bit about the Adirondack Park. Northwood School is kind of uniquely situated there right in the middle of the Adirondack park in New York. Talk a little bit about some of the activities that are available there.
Bobby: Yeah. The Adirondack Park is an incredible place and I don't really say it's a hidden gem anymore because it's so populated and it's being utilized quite a bit, but it's always been kind of like kicked around as one of the best climbing areas that no one knows about. Like I just said, that's kind of changing, but I know it's a six million acre classroom and playground and Northwood School is right in the heart of it, in Lake Placid, and surrounded by world-class adventure activities and an Olympic addition.
And it's just kind of an incredible place and anything from rock and ice climbing and whitewater kayaking to flatwater canoeing, obviously amazing hiking, some really cool, unique back country skiing opportunities. And yeah, it's got everything. And I think what really makes it even kind of more appealing is the accessibility to it is it's not hard to get to these areas and do a half day of great climbing or skiing or paddling.
We don't have huge mountains that the west has or, or the big, big rivers that they have, but we have all of that at different seasons of a year that is often a lot more accessible than the terrain out there. And I think being an east coaster or on the east coast, it's important to be multi-sport talented in the Adventure Ed realm. So it's good to be a climber, be a skier, be a hiker and be a paddler, so you can take advantage of all these different opportunities.
John: Right. And so the activities that you do throughout the year obviously will change when there's no snow on the ground you're doing a lot of that hiking and paddling and things like that. But then when there's snow, you're doing snow hiking, you're doing ice climbing, back country skiing, like you said, so there's all kinds of multi-season activities and sports that you can get involved in the Adirondack Park.
Bobby: Yeah, definitely. I mean, there was a really special day I had this past spring where I was skiing at Whiteface early in the morning. And later that afternoon I was paddling whitewater on the Ausable [River] through Wilmington and it was just kind of a cool moment to think about like, I was just skiing that snow that is now melting into the river and I might even be paddling the water that was once the snow I was just skiing this morning.
The Northwood Outing Club
John: Right. So tell me a little bit about the Northwood outing club and what that is and maybe the history of it.
Bobby: Yeah. So I am very much so kind of gathering the blocks of what the outing club is as well during this time when I've heard the history was pretty strong when it was up and running. I know I've heard from a lot of Northwood alum that they remember going on practicum trips where they're in the woods for a week or two weeks at a time, and they're really just immersing themselves in the outdoors and kind of the Adventure Ed world at that time.
And a lot of these alum, like that was their highlight of their four years at Northwood or their five years with their postgraduate. But hearing that is inspiring. I'm excited to try and bring those opportunities back to these students where maybe the trips that we go on are going to be their highlight of their time at Northwest School.
Yeah. So, I mean, I think as we move forward with the club, the objective is to have these opportunities for aspiring outdoor enthusiasts and professionals and have trips that they can go on X amount of times throughout the weekends, during the tri-semesters, hopefully trips every single break, that we're going to have an opportunity to give them a chance to go on trips during Thanksgiving break, spring break, their April break. So I know one of the cruxes is kind of working through the student's academic schedule, of course, and also athletic schedule. So that's something we're well aware of and we're preparing to kind of develop those strategic plans to get every student, hopefully, an opportunity to partake in the outing club if they want to do so.
What’s Planned for the Northwood Outing Club?
John: So talk a little bit about what the Northwood outing club is going to look like for students in the upcoming year. And I know you're just kind of getting started and starting to plan those things out, but what are some of the things that you have in mind?
Bobby: Yeah, so I'm currently scheduled to teach four courses through the outing club. So these are they're academic courses, but they're kind of like electives for students to sign up for if they wish to do so. In the first tri-semester for the fall, we're going to have a climbing history. And then in the winter, we're going to do an ice climbing history. There's going to be a course called expedition planning that is going to last throughout the whole academic year, which is going to go into a number of different components of the history of expedition then the logistics that go into planning an expedition, and then tentatively speaking for our April break, we're going to head out west and immerse ourselves into these logistics and planning that we've been doing all semester and work with a guiding company out there, stay at a yurt around 10,000 feet and do back country skiing and avalanche awareness. And those students will walk away with an area certification in avalanche safety and an education.
So, then one other course is a paddle sports -- introduction to paddle sports. And that's going to be, again, just a broad overlook on a number of different paddle sports, and teaching the skills necessary to kind of start a paddle in that moving water or whitewater kind of environment, we'll start off in the pool and students have the opportunity to learn how to roll and move their boat properly and get that kind of movement and balance down. But that's kind of the academic side of things.
And then, like I was saying, we really want to give opportunities for students to go on trips as much as they can. And in the works right now, we've got a red rock, red rocks, Joshua tree climbing trip over Thanksgiving break. And I don't know if this will happen within year one, but I really want to start adding international trips on the calendar.
Back country skiing in Iceland is a trip that's pretty accessible from the east coast. And there's a lot of good people that we can connect with and get that trip to run as well. And then also just the day to day adventure education that we can provide for the colleges. So group dynamics, team building, just utilizing our own little area with the Adirondack park to kind of build those skills and that confidence and get the kids to start working together as a group.
And hopefully maybe get the freshman class to do some kind of wilderness experience before they really start at Northwood for their first year. And, and also there's provide a really good time and a lot of fun for these kids.
Outdoor Education and Learning
John: You know, to kind of sum it up, do you really feel like outdoor education like this just is such an important part of creating a well-rounded student that's able to work with a team, able to just kind of push themselves and, and that is going to lead to success, whether it's in college or later in life?
Bobby: Definitely. Yeah, for sure. I mean that whole concept of critical thinking and learning by doing is what the adventure education is developed upon. So I think that's going to translate to everything they do in life. And it's just going to be kind of exciting to see these kids grow and see how they utilize these different skills in, in their own path.
John: All right. Well, that's really great information. Thanks Bobby, for speaking with me and best of luck with the new Northwood outing club in the fall.
Bobby: Thank you, John. It was great talking with you.
John: And for more information about Northwood School, visit the website at northwoodschool.org.