By Stephanie black
Lifestyle Editor
Trekking hillsides, sleeping under the stars, catching a wave and roasting a marshmallow. All this can be done, and more, through California Baptist University’s Outdoor Adventures.
Though the program has been around a few years, this semester it is growing more by adding new trips and continuing others that people may not know about.
“Outdoor adventure operates within the Community Life Office, just like recreational sports and campus events,” said Jon McWhorter, director of recreation programs at CBU.
Trips include hiking, camping, rock-climbing and surfing. Outdoor Adventures goes to places such as Yosemite, Joshua Tree and Zion national parks, as well as many more venues.
More details can be found in the CBU Recreation guide.
“Our new Recreaton Guide, which explains the trip and the intensity levels, is now available in the Recreation Center and our Community Life Office,” said Justin Giammalva, senior civil engineering major and Outdoor Adventure intern.
Giammalva said he strongly encourages everyone to go on a trip.
“There’s a trip out there for everyone, and I encourage them to try a new activity,” he said.
McWhorter said, “We want to enhance students’s experience. The Community Life mission statement is, ‘Enhancing the CBU experience through purposeful co-curricular programming.’
“We don’t want just the climbers; we want the new people. We want to target people who say, ‘I would love to try that.’”
Michael Woodhead, junior marketing major, said he has high hopes for Outdoor Adventures this year .
“Outdoor Adventure is progressing and growing,” he said. “ I think it is becoming more popular and hopefully one day will be as popular as recreational sports.”
This unique opportunity on campus is for all students, no matter what their past experiences.
“Outdoor Adventure has a special place on this campus,” Woodhead said. “It’s so different.”
Giammalva added that Outdoor Adventure can be new territory for some, but he wants everyone to have the opportunity to try an adventure.
“There are a lot of students who have never been exposed to the outdoors stuff,” Giammalva said. “We target outdoor enthusiasts, but we make (activities) accessible to students who have never gone. We want students who have never gone, to go.”
Community Life and Outdoor Adventures want students to go on an adventure to experience something new. To get an idea of what the trips are like, check out the hashtag #CBUOUTSIDE on Instagram.
