BHP piloted a new program this year in conjunction with the National Outdoor Leadership School to take a group of students on a leadership trek through Arizona. Eight students, all freshmen with the exception of one sophomore, left in early-January for seven days in the Galiuro Mountains. The group was accompanied by two NOLS instructors and one BHP staff member. They traversed 33 miles, climbed nearly 7,000 feet and set up camp each night.
The leadership trek is designed to help students develop their leadership skills, their attention to detail, and their efficiency of action. Each participant had the opportunity to act as the designated leader of the group for a day, and to give and receive feedback on their leadership.
The group loved the experience, and luckily there were no injuries or major setbacks during the week. “My favorite parts of the trip were being able to truly experience an unknown environment, getting to know everyone in BHP fully, and testing my boundaries,” said Maggie White, a BHP freshman. “I am so grateful that BHP gave me this opportunity to push myself to be a better person.”
Rayja Atluri, another trip participant, added that the trip really put things into perspective for her. “Every day we woke up around 6:30 am, had to put water on to boil and make breakfast, get cleaned and packed up, then we hiked all day. When we got to where we were going to camp we had to scout out places to sleep and cook, then we had to set everything up, make dinner, debrief on the day, clean up, and by the time we were ready for bed it was close to 10:30 pm. The next day we had to do it all over again. It put the feeling of ‘I’m tired’ into perspective.”
The whole group agreed that one of the best outcomes of the trip was that they all bonded. The students didn’t know each other well before the trip, and are now very close. Those on the trip also agreed that they learned a great deal about leadership and their own leadership style. Madison Gwynn noted the importance of helping those you are leading become independent. Nathan Hsu learned the skill of explaining the big picture, while outlining the important details.
The trip was modeled after similar trips done by the Texas MBA program through NOLS. BHP plans to continue offering a leadership trek in the future and hopes to expand participation in this program.