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Arts & Life
The Clarion \ September 25, 2019
Alumni Profile
The Wild West welcomes BC alumna
By Chloe McGee
Arts & Life Editor
Since graduating from Brevard College
in 2019, WLEE alumna Sydney Shaw has
figuratively set up camp in a small town on the
outskirts of Colorado’s Roosevelt National Park
to pursue a career in wilderness leadership.
“I had never been to Colorado; I just packed
up my life in my car and drove,” Shaw said.
“Goodbye Blue Ridge, hello Rockies!”
Bom and raised in the suburbs of Greenville,
SC, Shaw had never gone camping until her
Sophomore year of college when she took
WLEE 101.
Shaw currently works for Rocky Mountain
Pathways Ranch in Allenspark, CO whose
“mission is to power underserved students with
socio-emotional skills, to aid them to become
leaders within their community, and help them
to achieve their personal and collective goals,”
Shaw said.
RMPR is a nonprofit organization that hosts
students from California charter schools
to experience a new and often challenging
environment. The company’s hope is to instill
foundational skills and knowledge that the
students will then carry back home with them.
Many of the students they invite left
traditional school because they were bullied
or in danger of being expelled.
Shaw’s day-to-day responsibilities on the
ranch include leading the students in outdoor
and educational activities as a part of their
hybrid school curriculum.
“RMPR is focused around social emotional
learning and using restorative practices rather
than consequences for behavior,” Shaw said.
Since working on the ranch, Shaw says that
she uses her “WLEE tool beh” every day.
“The soft skills I learned in Theory and
Practice help me with conflict resolution and
to effectively communicate with my students.
Games and Initiatives helped me to develop a
portfolio that my coworkers and I use every
day to keep the students engaged and smiling
during structured down time,” Shaw said.
“I’m currently using my knowledge from
Risk Management and Immersion semester to
develop a four day, three-night backpacking
course for the program.”
“My WLEE professors gave me the skills
and confidence I need to work in my field,”
Shaw said.
In her free time, Shaw takes advantage of
all that Colorado has to offer on and off the
ranch. Shaw enjoys riding the company horses
and exploring Colorado with her coworkers
who participate in an array of outdoor activities
together. From rock climbing to kayaking to
hiking, Shaw does it all!
Although Colorado has exceeded Shaw’s
expectations, she often reminisces on her time
spent in the mountains of North Carolina.
“Since leaving Brevard I’ve learned to really
appreciate my time there, my friends and most
importantly the lessons from my professors,”
Shaw said.
While Shaw does not yet have any concrete
plans to further her education, she plans
to eventually receive a Master’s degree in
Developmental Psychology.
As for her foreseeable goals, Shaw wants to
continue working with the Pathways Ranch and
to, ultimately, “make a difference in the lives of
young people using the outdoors,” Shaw said.
Courtesy of Sydney Shaw
Sydney Shaw riding a horse at Rocky Mountain Pathways Ranch.