National Outdoor Leadership School NONpROfIT ORG. 284 Lincoln Street US POSTAGE Lander, WY 82520-2848 PAID www.nols.edu • (800) 710-NOLS pERmIT NO. 81 THE LEADER IN WILDERNESS EDUCATION jACkSON, WY 19 13 6 Research Partnership Research Country Their the NOLS World NOLS the University of Utah Utah of University Serve Grads NOLS Service Projects Around Around Projects Service For Alumni of the National Outdoor Leadership School Leadership Outdoor National the of Alumni For Leader THE No.3 24 Vol. 2009 Summer • • 2 THE Leader mEssagE from the dirEcTor summer months as passionate staff arrive and go to work in the mountains, in classrooms, in the issue room, or on rivers, ocean, or the telephones. In the May issue of Outside magazine, NOLS was recog- nized for the second year in a row as one of the top 30 companies to work for in the nation. Key to winning this honor is the dedication, passion, and commit- ment to service shared by our staff and volunteers. Throughout the year we also partner with other THE Leader NOLS Teton Valley students spend time doing trail work nonprofits to serve people and the environment. In during their course. an area of the Big Horn mountains. many cases these nonprofits direct students to us that would benefit from a NOLS education. Still others Joanne Kuntz ike most nonprofit organizations, service is fun- help provide scholarship support, which provides a Publications Manager Ldamental to the NOLS mission. In our case, NOLS education to a more diverse student base. Fi- we execute our mission in order to “serve people Rachel Harris nally, our alumni and donors provide essential sup- and the environment.” The NOLS community— Publications Intern port to further our goals and make it all happen. alumni, staff, students, and donors—tend to feel This issue of The Leader has several articles that Allison Jackson passionately about educating and developing people focus on service projects and, primarily, on the lives Graphic Designer and also protecting our wild lands. We achieve our of service carried on by NOLS alumni. As you will Rich Brame mission through several avenues including conduct- see, that service takes place in numerous different Alumni Relations Manager ing research, publishing books, developing curricu- ways, including the work our graduates did to serve lum, and having an active public policy department. the Hubble Telescope and, with it, service to astron- John Gans While all of those avenues are important, the most omy, science, and our understanding of the universe. NOLS Executive Director important avenue for furthering our mission is Perhaps you were involved in a service project on through training and educating students. your NOLS course. In addition to our primary ser- The Leader is a newsletter for alumni of the National At this time of year, our focus on students is al- vice of education, NOLS has students busy pulling Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), a nonprofit ways obvious. Students arrive from around the world school focusing on wilderness skills, leadership, and weeds and maintaining trails as part of their edu- and gather, often nervously, at the Noble Hotel in environmental ethics. Published three times a year, cation. Read up on what projects our bases are un- each issue is mailed to approximately 50,000 NOLS Lander, on the farm in Alaska, along the Yukon dertaking this year in our Branch Notes on page 19. alumni and an additional 10,000 prospective stu- River in Whitehorse, and at many other NOLS op- Our graduates are also found contributing to mili- dents. NOLS graduates living in the U.S. receive a erating locations in both the northern and southern tary service or making unique contributions to the free subscription to The Leader for life. hemispheres. They head out into the backcountry, business community, while also carrying forward The Leader accepts paid advertising, and welcomes and after weeks, or months, they return to our bases the leadership and values they learned at NOLS. article submissions and comments. Please address all with increased skills and confidence, greater leader- We are pleased to share a few of these stories correspondence to the Editor at [email protected], or call ship ability, and a deeper understanding of our wild (307) 332-8800. Direct address changes to the NOLS and regret that we are not able to share the more lands and their relationship with those lands. Alumni office at [email protected] or (800) 332-4280. than 150,000 other stories of service carried forth For the most up-to-date information on NOLS, visit NOLS has always focused on teaching and by all of our graduates. I am always proud to see www.nols.edu or e-mail [email protected]. training over other ways of advancing our mission. how our alumni distinguish themselves in leader- The Leader is printed locally on newsprint with Paul Petzoldt, the founder of NOLS was an experi- ship positions and carry forward a commitment to a minimum 40% post-consumer-waste recycled con- ential educator at heart. We are believers in that old service. Thank you for all you do, for NOLS and tent. A paperless version is also available online at Chinese proverb from Guanzi, who wrote, “When the NOLS mission. www.nols.edu/alumni/leader. We are committed to planning for a year, plant corn. When planning for continually exploring environmentally-friendly pro- a decade, plant trees. When planning for life, train duction methods. and educate people.” In order to maximize the effectiveness of our mission, we rely on many staff, volunteers, partners, John Gans, NOLS Executive Director wHo’s THis? and foundations. Our numbers swell in the northern Table of conTEnTs FeaTurEs The World is Crawling with NOLSies: Debriefing Leadership Week. 3 Serving Those Who Serve: NOLS Provides Practical Leadership Lessons for Military Personnel and Families. 6 NASA & NOLS: Expedition Skills for the Final Frontier. 10 DeparTmEnTs WILD SIDE OF MEDICINE : Remembering Why We Volunteer. 4 Iss UE ROO M : Connecting Students to the Land. 5 ALU M NI PROFILE : Cancer Survivor Climbs for Research and Remembrance. 8 ALU M NI PROFILE : Taking the NOLS Mission To Capitol Hill . 9 Q&A: Marco Johnson, Senior NOLS Field Instructor. 12 BOOK REVIE W : Mountain Madness. 12 FIELD NOTE S : Long-term Impacts of Outdoor Education: A NOLS and University of Utah Study. 13 Recognize this person? The first 10 people to figure RECI P E BOX : Gooey Cheesy Hushpuppies. 14 it out will receive a free NOLS t-shirt. Call the Alumni GE ar ROO M : Lightweight Gear Suggestions for the Masses. 14 office at (800) 332-4280. FIELD NOTE S : Three Easy Steps to Maintain Fitness Post-NOLS . 15 Last issue’s answer to “Who’s This?” is kevin Jabb E rw OCKY . 16 ALU M NI Happ ENIN gs . 18 mcGowan, a field instructor since 1979 and NOLS Bra NC H NOTE S . 19 Rocky mountain’s outfitting manager since 1999. BEL A Y OFF : The Unexpected Service Rewards of NOLS Training. 20 SUMMER 2009 3 Courtesy of John Grunsfeld One NOLSie who is out of this world! NASA astronaut john Grunsfeld shows his NOLS pride on the recent mission to the Hubble Telescope. disappointed. You reviewed NOLS books on Ama- he was in high school . (Read more about NASA and The World Is zon, signed up for Facebook groups, requested more NOLS on page 10.) We even saw one college essay catalogs to distribute, and yes, we love urban wind- from a Baja Ocean Semester grad who says, “NOLS Crawling With pant wearers. made me the person I am today.” We hope you were As I monitored the social network airwaves, accepted to the college of your choice, Devon! the biggest success of this year’s event had to be the This was the first time we have tried a weeklong NOLSies amount of inspiring stories grads shared about the event, and just like any NOLS course, we have de- Debriefing impact NOLS had on their lives. “I learned I could briefed it, learned our lessons, and have started plan- always depend on my knowledge and skills to get out ning for next year’s blowout event. Focusing on alum- Leadership Week of trouble; to be a leader,” said Baja Sea Kayaking ni hosted events and meet-ups will be our goal, and grad Maggie Nichols. Other NOLS grads, young we will soon send out a call-to-action looking for folks BY WILLIAm ROTH, NOLS SOCIAL NETWORk ENGINEER and old, on this planet and off, chimed in too. up to the task. Events like movie night with a short Grayson Lookner, a 2003 Spring Semester in NOLS slideshow on your local campus, technical or an entire week in May, NOLS alumni came Mexico grad, wrote about the current challenging clinics in climbing and kayaking, and Leave No Trace Fout of the woodwork to exercise their leader- job market using the NOLS expedition as a meta- seminars will scatter the globe, promoting the NOLS ship prowess and spread the good word of NOLS. phor, a language we completely understand. “I tend mission and outcomes and celebrating our alumni, so Leadership Week was seven days jam-packed with to take the broader view and look at my whole life that we may, for another 44 years and more, continue ways grads could promote leadership skills and in- like an expedition, these are just a few lay-over days to be the leader in wilderness education. spire life-changing experiences through wilderness due to poor weather or an evacuation, and soon we’ll expeditions. Each day was paired to a specific NOLS be packed up and moving on again, and in the end Next year’s NOLS Leadership Week dates are February leadership skill, and our marketing team and alumni this will just make the whole experience richer.” 21–27, 2010.