Posted: 02/28/07

Minor issues
Wilderness Program struggles to find support for an official minor

Tula Florent | contributing writer
aflorent@smcvt.edu

A wilderness minor is of interest to both Wilderness Program directors and participants, but only administration and faculty members can offer the support necessary to make the minor official.

What would the minor look like?

Teddy Oram, sophomore Wilderness leader, scales a cliff during a Wilderness Program sponsered trip to El Portrero Chico, Mexico last year. (Photo courtesy of Teddy Oram)

As director of the Wilderness Program, Todd Wright has a big say in what a wilderness minor might look like at St. Michael’s. Such a minor would reflect the current leadership programs that the Wilderness Program has, but it would also be modeled after existing programs of study in the United Kingdom (U.K.), Wright says.

The U.K. differs from the U.S. in its approach to learning by maintaining a very participatory interest throughout one’s lifetime, Wright says.

"[They contain] heavy emphasis on becoming disciplined in a field, teaching and science of sport, and the context of environment,” Wright says.

There would also have to be a balance between academic rigor and experiential requirements, Wright says. Although many of the experiential requirements for a wilderness minor are already available in the current leadership programs, there would also be a need for academically challenging, semester-long courses, such as coaching process, psychological-motor skills and meteorology, he says.

Is it practical?

Senior wilderness leader Ian Guertin says the minor would be a lot of work, but it would be hard to justify that the work carries as much weight as that which is done in the classroom.

“It is difficult to measure the work that you do in an academic way,” Guertin says.

The Wilderness Program has been successful with trips to places like El Portero Chico, Mexico in the past, but Wilderness leader Ian Guertin says the work that goes into a Wilderness trip would be hard to measure academically. (Photo courtesy of Teddy Oram)

Guertin will likely be working for a rock climbing guide service in New York after he graduates and owes most, if not all, of his leadership abilities and certifications to his involvement in the Wilderness Program, he says.

In addition to the pre-existing leadership programs taught by the Wilderness Programs’ staff, additional courses could be taught by existing faculty members, Wright says. A wilderness minor would be a serious time commitment for students and faculty due to the pre-existing leadership programs, which require off-campus training and field experience, he says.

Time requirements would definitely limit the quantity and quality of students who choose to earn a Wilderness minor, Wright says.

But Wilderness Program leaders like sophomore Teddy Oram are interested in the minor. She says she has learned a lot from participating.

“The best thing about the Wilderness Program is getting the right training that you can use throughout your whole life,” Oram says.

She says thats the minor would be extremely practical given St. Michael's location and resources.

Varied support

Todd Wright, Director of the Wilderness Program says that students have been very supportive of a Wilderness minor, but faculty and staff support would be necessary to make the minor official. (Tula Florent, photo)

A Wilderness minor would face its main barriers from lack of interest and support by faculty members, Athletic Director Geri Knortz says.

Also, colleges and universities that think of themselves as more academically prestigious often intentionally overlook this area of study, Knortz says.

But the development of a Wilderness minor draws lots of support from those within the Wilderness Program. St.Michael’s has students who would be more than willing to put in the enormous amounts of time and effort necessary to make a Wilderness minor a “program of excellence,” Wright says.

“There’s a lot of people at St. Mike’s who would go for it,” Oram says. “They can get something out of it instead of just being a leader. People may not go for the full minor, but they might definitely take classes to get a taste.”

Some students are supportive of the minor, even if they aren’t involved in the Wilderness Program, such as junior Patrick Mager.

“If it could fit in my academic schedule, I could make time for it. I would definitely consider it,” Mager says.

Junior Katie Crawford says she also supports the idea of a Wilderness minor.

“It sounds interesting for those involved,” Crawford says. “I have some good friends in the Wilderness Program so it’d be cool if they got credit for it.”

However, student interest alone will not spark development of a Wilderness minor, Wright says. Both Wright and Knortz agree that although such a minor holds significant student support, such an endeavor is unlikely to become official anytime soon.