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Taking
a break from the classroom to get college credits won't be
a walk in the park...
Climbing
for Credit
By
Robyn Tellefsen
April 2002
The
CollegeBound Network NewsClick -- You step off the cozy chartered
bus to find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and the nearest
restroom is that unappealing and highly public clump of bushes
down the path. You're thinking, "This definitely isn't
what I signed up for..." Such
can be the experience of students who elect to take a two-credit
wilderness course as new college freshmen. But students say
that what starts out as scary, can turn into the adventure
of a lifetime.
Mark
Brice, a freshman psychology major at Wheaton College, Wheaton,
IL, participated in the 18-day High Road Vanguard expedition
through Wheaton's Honey Rock Camp, Three Lakes, WI, last August.
In preparation for his journey, this Harleysville, PA, native
and other would-be High Roaders read about the experiences
of Bible characters in the wilderness, and the ways those
times challenged and changed them.
Mark
certainly had his own challenges to face
in the wilderness. His group of 11 guys
and two leaders were given only a map and
"basically had to get from one place
to another in the middle of nowhere,"
he explains. After backpacking and participating
in a ropes course, and even fasting for
two days, Mark's group heated up rocks to
make a sauna and sweat off their impurities.
"We talked about the things in our
lives that we wanted to get rid of and the
things we wanted to keep," explains
Mark. Among the things worth maintaining
in Mark's life were the friendships he made.
"During the first month of school,
all my friends were High Roaders,"
he says. "I didn't feel all alone."
Thankfully,
that feeling carries far beyond freshman
year. Maria Behrns, a senior writing major
at Houghton College, Houghton, NY, claims
her involvement with the school's 11-day
Highlander Adventure Program "was an
integral part" of her college adjustment.
Rock-climbing was an amazing experience
for this North Tonawanda, NY, resident in
her group of seven girls, three guys, and
two leaders. "I didn't trust myself
to climb the rocks, but the leaders kept
yelling out, 'Are you giving it 100 percent?'
I had to ignore the bruising and the nail-breaking,
and haul my way up there."
Maria
is grateful for her pre-freshman wilderness adventure. "It
was such a raw experience; we saw each other at our worst.
I learned the value of being vulnerable, and deriving my power
and strength from God." The lessons extend beyond the
wilderness too, says Maria. "Highlander instilled in
me a mentality that I'm capable of more than I think."
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