Courtesy of Emmie McElroy

Each weekend, you might find a select group of students missing from campus. Instead of waiting in the Thorne line or studying in HL, they’re exploring the great outdoors: climbing, hiking and canoeing their way through Leadership Training (LT).

Every semester, the Bowdoin Outing Club (BOC) picks a group of students to participate in its rigorous Leadership Training course. Once they’ve completed it, BOC Leaders can take students on Outing Club adventures of their own. These leadership trainees will go on five weekend trips, attend weekly training sessions at the Schwartz and become fully certified as Wilderness First Responders by the end of the semester.

“Throughout the program students develop and practice their outdoor skills, as well as leadership skills like self-awareness, decision making, communication, collaboration and community building,” Anna Bastidas, associate director of the BOC, wrote in an email to the Orient.

According to student Kate Weed ’29, she has been interested in the BOC since coming to the College.

“It’s a really valuable experience to get outside, because the Bowdoin bubble is lovely, but it’s valuable to get out of that sometimes and realize that there’s more beyond what’s right in front of us,” Weed said.

Bruce Thompson ’29 cited similar reasons for enjoying the program. He described the beauty of experiencing Maine in the fall. He also enjoyed the company he was doing it with.

“It’s really great to just get to know [a small group of people],” Thompson said.

Becoming a BOC trip leader doesn’t come without its difficulties, however. The program takes more than 350 hours to complete, and students spend their evenings, weekends and even breaks training.

“It can be pretty tough being away the whole weekend, every weekend,” Thompson said, “Because of those [Tuesday and Thursday meetings] you basically can’t do any other extracurricular activities.”

Still, he believes the time spent away is worth it.

“You know that the bonds you make while you’re on trips and such are probably going to be stronger than the ones friends who are all already friends make [over the course of just one weekend],” Thompson said.

Clemens Summersgill ’29 described how the group overcame obstacles together on the trail.

“We have a lot of different experience levels, and I think learning how to balance that is a challenge, but it’s good, because that’s part of what being a trip leader is about,” Summersgill said.

The program takes substantial effort, both mentally and physically, but the leaders-in-training feel that the experience makes it worthwhile. Weed explained how everyone in the program shared similar values.

“It’s a place for people who are excited about getting outside, leading groups, having a good time, being off screens and present in the moment,” Weed said.

She also described one of her favorite trail games from a recent backpacking trip, where everyone was assigned a trait they had to stick to in conversation.

“Mine was that I really, really, really wanted to go abroad to Tuvalu. So the whole day, I’m plugging [that]. Everybody had their own things. Emmie [McElroy, assistant director of the BOC], one of the BOC staff, had to come up with new slang. She was like, ‘That’s so gouchy’—meaning ‘That’s so cool’—and we all say it now,” Weed said.

Weed also said that she was learning not only about leadership, but also about maintaining flexibility in difficult moments throughout the semester.

“When you get outside, there are a lot of things that can go wrong, and you have to be able to [manage a group of people] and plan and deal with those accordingly. I’m hoping to have a really good time, but also learn to be ready and prepared to combat challenging situations,” Weed said.

These leaders-in-training are grappling with everything from time management to first aid, but they’re ready to take on those obstacles together. By the spring, they’ll be able to confidently guide their peers on BOC trips through the wilderness. These students are learning to master the challenges BOC staff gives them now, so that they can solve any problem they’re faced with in the future. Bastidas described how valuable student leaders are to the BOC and the College as a whole.

“I hope that students leave Leadership Training feeling ready to apply what they learn in LT in other areas of life, and be excited to lead Outing Club trips,” Bastidas wrote. “Outing Club trip leaders put an incredible amount of time, energy and love into creating outdoor opportunities for the campus community and the Outing Club wouldn’t be what it is without their engagement.”