Brevard
Friday, February 12,1999
Brevard, North Carolina
“THE VOICE OF THE STUDENTS”
Diving Into Their Education:
Immersion Students at BC
Shannon McGuigan
For the past four years,
the spring semester at BC has
found 14 students willing to face
the elements for four months of
rigorous outdoor experience.
This year’s brave students are
Steve Witek, Brian Theroux,
Chris Terrell, April Shamel, Ryan
Sartor, Justin Peterson, Justin
Moman, Gavin McCormack,
Bistra Hristova, Bryan Hillis,
Greg Griffin, Josh Fussell, Ryan
Chasse and Sarah Carpenter.
This 18-credit hour
program known as the “Immer
sion Semester” integrates six
courses. All of these courses are
“taught in an ongoing and
integrated fashion” to create not
only well-rounded, educated
students, but also experienced
outdoors-people. Some of the
immersion semester activities are
caving, sea kayaking, white-water
paddling, mountain biking, rock
climbing, orienteering and
backpacking.
Clyde Carter, Director
of the School for Wilderness
Education, sees the immersion
semester as the “cornerstone to
a four-year degree” in this field.
Because students are encouraged
to take the course during their
sophomore year, they are apt to
have a better understanding of
the more theoretical courses
taken during their junior and
senior years. Carter feels that
this sets apart the Brevard
College degree in Wilderness
Leadership/Experiential Educa
tion from equivalent programs of
other schools around the
country.
To begin the semester,
the immersion students spent 80
The 1999 Wilderness leadership
immersions group holds a class at the
Camp Rockbrook tower.
hours in January in a Wilderness
First Responder course in
structed by Stonehearth Open
Learning Opportunities (SOLO), a
nationally recognized organiza
tion which teaches Wilderness
and Emergency Medicine. The
classrooms for this course were
“remote areas,” sections NOT
911 accessible. The objectives
were effective decision making
in wilderness emergencies,
improvising first aid supplies
from outdoor equipment, patient,
and evacuation. By completing
this course, students are candi
dates to receive Wilderness First
Responder certification, which
is standard for any career in the
wilderness leadership/experien
tial education field. These
students performed many
simulations of real-life circum
stances in the local Pisgah
National Forest. Some of these
scenarios included concussions.
possible head traumas, spinal
injuries, and hypothermia
victims. All of these injuries are
not merely potential harms, but
common misfortunes in an area
such as Transylvania County
with many waterfalls and outdoor
sports enthusiasts. Immersion
student Sarah Carpenter de
scribed these events as “in
tense,” especially given that
rescue simulations were true-to-
form, lasting well into the night.
During February, the
group will plan, undertake, and
then evaluate a five-day canoeing
trip to Capers Island, SC.
Additionally, they will attend a
three-day nature conference held
by the Wilderness Education
Association. Between projects,
the immersion students will take
a Wilderness Literature and
Philosophy class taught by
Brevard College’s Dr Susan
Schmidt. This course is designed
to improve critical thinking, group
collaboration, and personal and
group acceptance of constructive
criticism. The work is a combina
tion of both individual and group
written and oral presentations.
The curriculum includes Ameri
can explorers and naturalists,
wilderness in the Bible, and
natural history. As Dr. Schmidt
reflects, “It is wonderful for me to
see how competent these
students are.” Dr. Schmidt also
comments on how many leaders
are brought forth in each group
that goes through the program.
Also this month,
immersion students are visiting
area camps for a variety of
activities including attending
guest lectures on related topics.
Speakers include representatives
of NC Outward Bound, Nathan
Ballinger of BC, Jerry Stone of
Camp Rockbrook, David Trufant
of Camps Kahdalea &
Chosatonga, and Pat Lancaster of
the US Forest Service, just to
name a few.
As part of a Leader
ship and Group Dynamics
course, BC immersion students
work with 6th graders at Brevard
Middle School by playing games
and partaking in group activities
with youngsters. The benefits of
this interaction are twofold:
BMS adolescents get a chance to
break out of their ordinary
routine, and immersion students
receive fundamental experience
in leadership skills, group roles
and problem solving, decision
making, and effective communi
cation skills. Another aspect of
this course examines legal
issues of outdoor use and
leadership and regulations of
land governing agencies.
The first week of
March will bring a three-day
caving trip in Northern Georgia
with teaching styles and methods
and techniques for both outdoor
land and water pursuits being
studied. The end of March and
half of April will be spent on a
21-day expedition. The trip will
be student-planned and executed
from start to finish. This gives
students an opportunity to learn
about hiking permits and other
facets of the executive side of
outings. The remainder of April
will bring various canoeing,
kayaking, and rafting trips.
These will begin in the BC pool,
then move to lakes, and finally
end in the French Broad,
Tuckaseegee, and North Toe
rivers. Additionally, Brevard
College’s Windy Gordon (Voice
of the Rivers leader) will teach
students River Rescue.
The month of May
brings final exams and an end to
the Immersion Semester. Some
of these students will use the
skills acquired during the spring
semester in their everyday jobs
as Wilderness Leadership/
Contiuned on page 3