Classroom education is overrated, believes the National Outdoor Leadership School. For the past forty years, the organization has offered courses in the great outdoors in locations as diverse as Patagonia and the Yukon for students interested in honing their wilderness, travel and leadership skills.
On Thursday, NOLS descended on the MU Quad as part of their new road trip, "On the Road: finding Tomorrow's Leaders."
The tour bus itself serves as a promotional tool for NOLS. Decked out with a rock-climbing wall and powered by vegetable oil and solar panels, the bus gives NOLS' principles of enjoying outdoor recreation and promoting environmental sustainability a concrete manifestation.
The tour is sponsored by Silk soymilk, and free samples are given out at the outreach activities, which are frequently held at natural foods stores so that the tour can replenish its soymilk supply.
NOLS offers courses year-round, from two weeks to three months in duration. Students can earn college credit for NOLS courses. The courses are a natural history curriculum, with survival and leadership skills thrown into the mix.
"It's not like a college class, it's really about experience -- experiential education," said Matt Cox, a graduate of the OSU engineering program and NOLS faculty member. "We believe wilderness is the teacher; we're just there to facilitate it."
"For highly motivated students who are interested in the outdoors, NOLS is a great way to pursue those interests," said Winter Ramos, a NOLS instructor traveling with the bus tour.
Ramos took a three-month NOLS course in Patagonia as a college student.
"It was an amazing experience, just being outside for that amount of time, and seeing all the wildlife," he said.
While Cox never took a NOLS class as a student, "I've had so many students say the experience changed their lives," he said.
Anyone can take a NOLS class, with no need for prior wilderness experience or gear.
As part of the new tour, 15 scholarships for month-long courses will be awarded. Applications can be picked up at the bus or downloaded from the NOLS Web site, but must be turned in to staff members at the bus.
NOLS will be spending the next few days in Portland and holding outreach events at the various Wild Oats Markets. For more information on the bus tour events and about NOLS classes, visit www.nols.edu.
Brenna Doheny, campus editor
campus@dailybarometer.com, 737-2232