The Wilderness Effect

N.C. Outward Bound Program Unites Students on Uncommon Ground

- Jay Ahuja

North Carolina Outward Bound School celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Each summer, 45-60 Charlotte-Mecklenburg high school students are awarded scholarships to embark on a week long, group Outward Bound wilderness excursion, each hailing from different racial, social and socioeconomic backgrounds. During the day, students trek through Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina, tackling personal and team challenges, including rock climbing, ropes courses and long hikes with heavy backpacks.

In the evening, the group meets around a campfire and embarks on a different type of challenge. Led by an instructor, the teens engage in conversations about racial issues, sexual orientation, bullying and other topics that teenagers rarely broach with friends, let alone dozens of peers who they barely know or interact with on a daily basis.

The students are part of the N.C. Outward Bound School’s Charlotte Unity Project. Conceived more than 20 years ago by N.C. Outward Bound instructor Dave Genova, the program’s mission is to bring students from different walks of life together to depend on each other to successfully survive challenges of a week in the wilderness away from their usual daily experiences.

Connecting Through Challenge