Outdoor Adventure Recreation

Program Overview

Simpson University’s Outdoor Adventure Recreation (SOAR) program is designed to prepare students for leadership careers in adventure-based outdoor programs, camps, outdoor recreation, city, state and national park systems, and environmental stewardship. Students develop life skills in leadership, decision-making, problem-solving, teaching, and group facilitation within the context of a Christian worldview. Students also gain experience in outdoors skills, including rock-climbing, kayaking, wilderness expeditions, first aid, mountaineering, and more.

ADVENTURE BEGINS OUTSIDE. LEAD WITH NATURE, INSPIRE WITH ADVENTURE.

Program Highlights

Outdoor Recreation

SOAR classes take you out of the classroom for hands-on learning in the field. Students choose from a variety of skill-based courses, from backpacking to kayaking to rock climbing to cross-country skiing. Each skill-oriented course focuses on technique as well as leadership and decision-making.

Personal & Social Development

Outdoor Adventure Recreation focuses on relationships. Specifically, at Simpson University we focus on four relationships—our relationship with ourselves, with others, with God, and with the environment. As our students learn about the outdoor environment and how to interact with it, they also learn how to foster healthy relationships within that environment. Students are encouraged to learn in community with one another and to make personal applications to their lives. Educating outdoor leaders is about educating the whole person.

Environmental Stewardship

It is hard to care for what you don’t understand. It is for this reason that our program contains may curricular components of environmental stewardship and Creation Care. The SOAR program introduces natural science relevant to leading people in the outdoors. By learning the many ecological principles God has established within His Creation, our students are better prepared to be stewards of it. This moral consideration extends not just to our own species but to the whole of the created order as we attempt to usher in the shalom that Jesus inaugurated in his incarnation. Thus, by following the Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics all our wilderness travel, we believe we come a little closer to acting justly, loving mercy, and walking with our God.

Christian Worldview

Within the SOAR program, the three domains described above (Outdoor Recreation, Personal and Social Development, Environmental Stewardship) are taught from a Christian perspective. In fact, the central aim of our program is to facilitate the development of Christ-like character. The outdoors – through the three domains – are our means of doing so.

Required Courses

Intro to Outdoor Adventure Recreation
Wilderness Journey Practicum
Outdoor Living Skills
Group Processing and Program Design
Survey of Leadership Theories
Environmental Education
Expedition Management
Challenge Education
Recreational and Camp Programming
Solitude and the Outdoors
Senior Seminar

ELECTIVE CREDITS (35)

Skill-Based Courses

Downhill Skiing
Snowshoeing/Winter Camping
Rock Climbing
Mountaineering
Orienteering
Mountain Biking
Kayaking
Canoeing
Hiking
Cross-Country Skiing
Backpacking

Field & Classroom Time

Simpson’s Outdoor Adventure Recreation degree program trains outdoor leaders through both theory-based and skill-acquisition courses. However, the major’s focus on experiential education integrates theory and practice. The best way to learn how to lead is by getting experience leading. This is accomplished through significant field time – wilderness expeditions, winter term and Spring break intensives, and elective skill courses or your choice.

Northern California Location

Simpson University is an ideal location for outdoor adventures and recreation. To the east, one quickly encounters Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. Traveling further, one is confronted by the towering peaks of the Trinity Alps Wilderness, which is bordered by the Wild and Scenic Trinity River. This beautiful river flows to the Lost Coast area of Northern California, and is flanked by both state and national Redwood parks. To the north, along the Sacramento River, one soon discovers why the Redding area is famous for its fly fishing. Continue driving and one will soon see the toothy profile of Castle Crags State Park, and the looming mass of 14 179 ft. glaciated Mt. Shasta. To the west, the scenery is no less spectacular. From campus, the horizon is dominated by an alpine ridge extending between Lassen Peak and Brokeoff Mountain, which both reside within Lassen Volcanic National Park which sits less than an hours drive from Simpson University.

Career Opportunities

Combining academic-depth, leadership proficiency and training in a variety of outdoor recreational skills, the SOAR program puts you on the right track to further your education or to begin pursuing a career in various fields. Outdoor Adventure Recreation integrates well with the disciplines of psychology, business, ministry, kinesiology and environmental science. Students may take courses from these other majors and apply them as within the SOAR major. This flexibility is built into the major, enabling students are able to tailor their education to their learning needs and professional interests. Here are some of the ways our students are currently using or intend to use their degree after completion:

State and National Park Systems
Camp Programming and Administration
Adventure-Based Outdoor Programs
College and Community Recreation Programs
Adventure Guiding
Environmental Education
Wilderness Therapy
Running Your Own Adventure Business
Working for Non-Profit Agencies Such As the YMCA
Going to Graduate School

Program Learning Outcomes

Understand the historical, philosophical, and theoretical foundations of outdoor leadership and integrate them into personal philosophy and practice
- Analyze merits of different styles of outdoor leadership in various eras and cultures
- Identify aspects of outdoor adventure and recreational programs which contribute to personal and spiritual growth
- Articulate in oral and written forms the “why” behind their own particular leadership style
Display Christian character while taking on expanding leadership roles
- Care for the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of their participants
- Take initiative in seeking out roles of responsibilityTo demonstrate sound judgement and decision making
- Lead with integrity, vulnerability and honesty
Demonstrate technical proficiency in leading groups in adventure and recreational experiences
- Achieve foundational skill levels in a variety of outdoor pursuits
- Manage group dynamics to build community and enable the group and individuals to achieve their goals
- Design programs that are safe, philosophically grounded and spiritually impactful
Evaluate sustainable environmental practices and apply them appropriately to personal and professional life
- Integrate the Biblical call to stewardship into their lifestyle and environmental ethics
- Build “leave no trace” habits into their outdoor experiences
Effectively facilitate learning through experiential education
- Design lessons which involve students actively in the learning process
- Guide meaningful reflection drawing learning from experiences