Nature calls to novices

Venture Out gives all students the opportunity to trail blaze, rock climb and mountain bike

As the leaves begin to fall and nature calls, outdoor hiking and climbing become more enticing every day. For that person pining for the great outdoors, the Venture Out program is an on-campus option. Venture Out is centered on providing GCSU students with opportunities to go out of doors and experience nature through trips, clinics and events. The trips are usually a weekend long and the students return on Sunday afternoons. Venture Out trips are geared towards a wide spectrum of people from the avid nature person to the casual weekend hiker.

Coordinators like Nathan Renstrom, graduate assistant for the Department of Outdoor Education and a trip leader for Venture Out, take special care to plan trips so that everyone can go and have affordable fun.

“You are almost always spending less money than if you did the same trip by yourself,” Renstrom said.

There is a fee for the trips to cover the cost of transportation, food, the activity fee and campground fees. Also, a majority of the necessary camping equipment is already provided.

The overall goal of Venture Out is to bring people closer together and create unity within the GCSU campus.

Kate Sharp, outdoor education graduate assistant, acts as a primary leader for Venture Out.

“It is a good way to get out and meet new people with similar interests,” Sharp said.

Venture Out was originally a part of Student Activities, but the leaders of the program noticed that they shared many similarities with the Outdoor Center at Lake Laurel. As a result, Venture Out merged with the Outdoor Center.

Liz Speelman, Director of the Outdoor Center at Georgia College was involved with the merger.

“Last year, the decision was made to bring Venture Out under the roof of Outdoor Center because most of the OC leaders were involved in Venture Out anyway,” Speelman said.

Since the two combined, Venture Out has gained access to the Outdoor Center’s equipment, which has helpful in their many excursions. Because Venture Out is now in connection to the outdoor education major, members of that major have more responsibility within the program. Currently, there are six graduate assistants working towards their master’s in Outdoor Education Administration.

“Graduate students in Outdoor Ed at this time are required to lead a programmed trip,” Speelman said. “They are just responsible for planning the logistics in the trip with the menu, the program design, the route plan, and getting all of those details in order so when the trips come they have a set plan.”

Although it is looked well upon to lead a trip, the students are not allowed to do so until they are truly ready and trained.

“The graduate students cannot lead until they have completed the technical cohort semester, they have to be checked off as leaders, and they are not required to lead if they are unskilled,” Speelman said.

The graduate assistants are in charge of other Venture Out activities like day clinics. The clinics, which are held two to three times a month, provide training on everything from bicycling protocol to a lesson on back-country living.

Venture Out will be hosting a climbing night on Oct. 20, where the novices and the advanced unite to teach one another and to lift each other up. These activities are open to any current students at GCSU and a complete list of trips and events can be found on the Venture Out website.

There are still activities that the students desire, but despite the dedication of the Venture Out staff, are not currently available through the program.

“Students at GCSU have interest in certain activities, but that does not mean we have proper leadership for those things,” Speelman said.

The program still has room to grow, but as more students get involved and the program expands, it will surely have an even greater impact on the GCSU community than it already does.