The state of
Oregon has so much to offer, especially when you take a step out of your front
door. With Henry Hagg Lake 15 minutes, Mount Hood and the coast an hour away,
hundreds of hiking trails with amazing views and waterfalls, and plenty of
other easily accessible attractions, Pacific University is in the perfect
central place for students who want to get outside and connect with nature! For
this very reason, Pacific has an outdoors club called Outdoor Pursuits. The
sole mission of the club is to provide students with opportunities, skills, and
experience in the great outdoors. The club is catered to students with any
level of experience all the way from, “I essentially am a tree” to “I will
scream if I see a ladybug in my room”. Throughout the school year Outdoor Pursuits offers trips for students that are discounted to an extremely affordable level.
For example, it can cost $80 to rent a stand up paddle board through a regular
company, but only $35 for students with Outdoor Pursuits. The club aims to make
all the prices low so there is no excuse for not trying new things. On
top of the trips that are available to all students, the club offers Freshman
Voyages. These trips are offered to freshman before orientation in the fall. Students
have the opportunity to do fun things such as surfing, rock climbing, white
water rafting, etc. we trained older students and faculty for about a week. Voyages
are chance to walk into freshman orientation with a small community that you
have already formed. Often students make friends that last their entire college
career on their Voyage trip which is amazing to hear! When we have students who are extremely passionate about being in nature, we point them to our Outdoor Leadership Minor. We are one of the few schools in the country that offer this as a minor and employers love it. When an employer sees 100 applications, this minor really stands out and shows that you have leadership skills in extreme situations/environments and they want to know more about it. Student are able to lead classes, learn about safety, learn about guiding, and learn a lot about themselves as leaders and people. It is a new program but the reviews have been amazing!
Meet
Tailor Dolgin, a recently graduated senior (English Lit Major, Outdoor Leadership Minor) who found her new home in Outdoor Pursuits!
If
you have any other questions and want to check out all that Outdoor Pursuits
has to offer, click here.
