Are you an explorer at heart? Could you handle a five-day, 45-mile paddling journey down a pristine national waterway with nine other students? Before answering, consider that there are no grocery stores, no electricity, and no restroom facilities. Just you, your group, and whatever food and equipment your canoes can carry.
If you have an affinity for the outdoors, you could be a candidate the annual fall break trip to Arkansas’ pristine Buffalo River sponsored by the Grinnell Outdoor Recreation Program (GORP). GORP welcomes all students to apply.
While professionally supervised, the trip itself is a student-led outdoor learning experience heavy on situational awareness, critical thinking, and leadership development.
Three-year veteran Ceci Bergman ’19 says being a participant on her first trip, a leader-in-training on her second, and a team leader last fall was a “very cool transitional experience.”
Focus on Cooperation, Open Dialogue
“When you go out into the wilderness and you don’t have the distractions of your phones or emails or school, you’re really forced to sort of ‘look in’ on the people you’re with,” Bergman says. “Sleeping in a four-person tent with people you just met a few days ago is a close experience that brings people together in a special way.”
It’s also a relaxing escape that features swimming, floating lunches, open-fire cooking, and gorgeous scenery. But what Bergman considers most valuable is the focus on intentional cooperation, group dynamics, and the development of universal skills. Because not all preparation for careers that matter happens on campus.
“Every day we’re responsible for making sure that we eat well and drink enough water, and for keeping our bodies and minds healthy,” Bergman says. “But, for example, when you’re put in a place where it’s not necessarily easy to get drinking water or access filtration, that extra intention focuses people’s responsibility to care for themselves and for the group.”
Safety is foremost, and all GORP student leaders are certified in first aid and CPR (Bergman is additionally wilderness-certified). They also are largely responsible for identifying emerging leaders for future trips. Bergman says she looked especially for participants who demonstrated “the emotional intelligence to assess the needs of the group” and a long-term commitment to the process.
Navigating a Deeper Experience
Rose Caplan ’21, a leader-in-training on the 2018 trip, says the system works well both in keeping the program sustainable and promoting a sense of community.
“When you’re setting up camp, gathering firewood, or cooking meals, you’re sharing everyday experience on a level that’s much deeper than in a regular setting,” Caplan says, “When you’re so exhausted, you also can easily have conflicts with people. You have to navigate those because you can’t exit the situation; you’re in the middle of nowhere with only each other.
“Having the trip entirely student-run allows you to become part of the process,” she says. “It builds confidence that you’re not that different from the person who’s leading you through the wilderness.”
Ceci Bergman ’19, from Silver Spring, Maryland, graduated with a degree in Spanish and a concentration in global development studies.
Rose Caplan ’21, from Madison, Wisconsin, is a double major in art and Spanish.