20 Years of the Outdoor Adventure Program

Laura was attracted to the program because of all the practical learning. “It was so exciting to try sports I’d never experienced before and to hone the skills of activities I was already interested in.”

After graduating in 2001, she worked on cruise ships then moved to Toronto and started working in climbing gyms. “I’ve had a hand in training staff and customers and moulding the next generations of outdoor enthusiasts. I’ve had incredible experiences with supporting people in their first experiences in outdoor sports. My current position has allowed me to use much of my training to help run and improve a new and very successful company.”

Laura currently works at Basecamp Climbing Inc. in Toronto.

After graduating from the Outdoor Adventure (ODA) program at Algonquin College in Pembroke, Ryan was a raft/kayak guide in Mexico, Canada and Australia. He is now working as an electrician in Kingston, Ontario. 

What attracted him to the ODA program was his love for everything about the outdoors. Vowles shares, “Loved the program, so many memories.” He especially loved the sea kayaking trip to Nova Scotia.

His advice to someone considering enrolling in the program – “Make sure to try all activities to the fullest, even if you think you might suck at them.”

Joanne was interested in finding a job in the outdoors when she came across the Outdoor Adventure program. She thought that this was her shot to get the job of her dreams. Her significant memories about the program include the small expeditions and making long-lasting friendships. After graduating from the program in 2005, Joanne moved to Australia where she lived for eight years teaching Outdoor Education.

She is currently living in Revelstoke, British Columbia with her husband and two children where she started Revelstoke After School Society, an outdoor education after school program that is thriving. 

Her advice to someone considering enrolling in the program: “Do it. Even if you end up changing career paths, the programs you take, the courses you learn will be with you and help you in any career.”

Jim Butterworth shares his memories from the Outdoor Adventure program, “At first, I was attracted by the skills portion of the program, but after realizing it was a business program as well, I became very excited. Both parts of the program have made me more employable and an asset to companies. Some people live life on the edge, we train to step off it.

During the two years of the program, I participated in a lot of outings on days off to go on adventures. I had an entire group of first and second-year students who were interested in doing outdoor adventure, so it was easy to get a handful of people together and go for an adventure. I ended up completing an Avalanche Level 2 certification with a couple of second-years in the U.S. during reading week. The second-year students were looking to fill two more spots on a course and my buddy and I joined up immediately. We had a great time and learned a lot about what was to come for the next year.”

Jim signed up for a paramedic program immediately after graduating from the program with the goal of becoming not only a high-end professional guide but to instruct guides in Wilderness First Aid courses. He completed his Paramedic certification in 2010 and continued to teach with Canadian Wilderness Medical Training across Canada where he said he had the privilege of working with the best and brightest inspirational instructors. He enjoyed preparing some of the best guides in the world while teaching courses for Outward Bound, Bear Creek Outdoor Centre, Black Feather, and others.

Jim’s advice for someone who is considering enrolling in the program, “No matter which path you choose to follow, accept that you will make mistakes and give each new challenge your best try. Have fun trying! Before each lesson, I would search for videos on the specific skills course to get ready for what we were about to be taught. Unfortunately, my learning style is also ‘make all the mistakes and then do it right.’ That is to say, I recommend being humble and taking all the help and advice you can get from the gifted people who surround you.”

Katie loved the outdoors and didn’t really know what she wanted to do as a career and thought the Outdoor Adventure Program (ODA) would introduce her to new opportunities and career paths.

When asked to share her memories of the program this is what she had to say, “The cliché, lifelong friends. The field courses, expeditions, class projects and parties created a bond with a group of people like no other. I married my husband who was also in the program, our best man was in the program, many guests were from the program were there, we even had a friend from the program surprise crash our wedding! And we couldn’t have been happier to have them all there. Even 13 years later, I ran into someone I haven’t seen since graduation and we are now reconnecting, taking our young families on adventures together.” 

Katie continued her education at Thompson Rivers University in the Tourism Management program graduating in 2009. She then acquired her paralegal diploma and license and now works at a personal injury law firm (Boland Romaine LLP), which works files involving adventure tourism injuries. 

Her advice to someone considering enrolling in the program – “Keep an open mind as to the skills being learned. This program offers the learning and development of so many skills that can be applied to so many careers outside of guiding.”

After graduating from the Outdoor Adventure (ODA) program in 2008, Sarah continued her education at Thompson Rivers University in the Tourism Management program. She then moved to Jasper, Ontario and opened a guided hiking company which she still operates – Canadian Skyline Adventures.

What attracted her to the ODA program were the classes and opportunities offered. “I love the outdoors and when I came upon the program I knew it was for me.”

Her advice to someone considering enrolling in the program – “Do it, save up and buy yourself some decent gear if you can but if not do it anyways and have fun. It’s a wonderful program.”

Kaitlyn was attracted to the Outdoor Adventure (ODA) program because of the possibility of being able to find an active job outdoors.

After graduating from the ODA program in 2009 she moved to Vancouver and worked at a summer camp before getting a job at Grouse Mountain teaching snowboarding, skiing and zipline guiding. She is now working at Rocky Mountaineer as a Human Resources Systems Administrator.

Her advice to someone considering enrolling in the program: “Be prepared to go far out of your comfort zone. Try everything because even if you aren’t perfect, you’ll typically come out of things with a great story.”

Jessie currently works in Canmore, Alberta as a raft guide doing moving water float tours in the summer and Nakiska Ski Resort in the winter.

Jessie has had many significant experiences in her life since graduating in 2014 including “having a coworker pop a raft on the river on a big strainer, getting to use my SRT [Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician] boat roping skills in the rescue, leading a group of 20 campers through morning fog in Algonquin Park, and working for a travel company that sent me to live in Lake Tahoe for two summers.”

Her advice to someone considering enrolling in the program – “If you already know what part of the industry you want to work in, just go find an entry-level job in the industry. We had MANY classmates who were under the impression they would be exclusively taught things about kayaking or climbing who eventually dropped out to go work. If you’re unfamiliar with the outdoor industry or would like to learn about opening a small adventure business this is more for you.”

Ashley was attracted to the program knowing she would be trained and learn from world-class instructors while staying fit and spending ample amounts of time outside rain or shine. Her significant memories about the program include a nine-day sea kayak trip on the Georgian Bay; getting to know all her instructors on a friend and mentor level; and a cycle tour with Ben Shillington. “I was the weakest rider and we were travelling up a 12% grade hill. Super steep! (For me anyway). And he rode behind me the entire way, encouraging me to keep going and complete it without walking my bike once. Something that will stick with me forever and encourage me to be an amazing leader like him.” She also is grateful for “the friends you make will last a lifetime being in such a small program.”

After graduating from the program in 2017, Ashley entered into a four-month Spring/Summer contract doing Outdoor Education which turned into an 8-month internship, following another Spring/Summer contract and then she moved to Arnes, Manitoba where she became an Outdoor Educator full time. She is currently working in Arnes, Manitoba. 

Her advice to someone considering enrolling in the program, “Despite any fears you may have, get out of your comfort zone and enroll! It’s an experience you won’t regret and will never forget. Even if you never use the diploma, you gain priceless experience from world-class instructors and gain leadership experience in the best way possible.”

Julien Lafrenière shares, “What attracted me to the Outdoor Adventure (ODA) program the most was how unique it seemed. I have always been into outdoor sports but never considered making it my job before I learned about ODA. Being originally from Quebec with French as my main language, joining a program given in English was a good challenge for me. I found out about the program through a friend that was doing the Outdoor Adventure Naturalist program. She spoke about the Pembroke Campus and the outdoor programs offered there with such passion that it felt natural for me to join ODA.

Going into the program I was a bit nervous with the language component. My English was very bad when I joined the program. I could barely understand anything in class but the teachers have always been patient for French-speaking students. Those two years were some of the most impactful years of my life.”

Lafreniere’s advice for someone who is considering enrolling in the ODA program – “The best advice I could give would be to immerse yourself completely and commit as much time to your learning as possible. The two years went by so fast and the teachers/instructors were some of the most knowledgeable individuals in the industry. They are an endless source of knowledge and so much can be learnt from them if you take the time to ask as many questions as possible.”

Lafreniere shares that the best memories for him from the ODA program are the special bonds created with classmates. “It is something really special to basically live with your classmates half of the week in cabins, tents and in remote wild places”.

After graduating from the program, Julien moved to the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia where he guided several activities such as kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing.

Stephanie was attracted to the Outdoor Adventure (ODA) program because of her love for the outdoors. After graduating in 2019 she became a ski instructor in Banff and a canoe guide in Quebec. She is currently working at Camp Minogami in Shawinigan, Quebec.

As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of our Outdoor Adventure program, we are sharing 20 success stories including acknowledging the excellent faculty who teach in the program. Jeff Jackson has been part of the program since day one, having taught every student who has enrolled over the past two decades.

Jackson was working in the adventure tourism industry when he learned about the College’s plan to launch an Outdoor Adventure program. “As an outdoor instructor, I knew I was a teacher, and I had at some point targeted teaching outdoors in a college even before I knew if such a thing existed (it didn’t). So when this program emerged in its earliest stages, I saw it as one of the rare opportunities to be involved, and such a position is still rare across Canada,” says Jackson.

Algonquin College has certainly built a reputation for offering an excellent Outdoor Adventure program that has produced graduates who work around the world. The impact the program has had on the industry is not lost on Jackson who is very proud of the alumni he has helped mold through his teaching.

“Twenty years of graduates have had a substantial influence on so many operators and regions. Our ideals of professionalism and assessing risk are now inserted into so many different operations it has upped the game across the board. We are looked to for leadership from operators, which I’m glad to have the latitude to work with them and offer professional opinion,” says Jackson.

When it comes to what our alumni have done, it is very impressive. Many have used the Outdoor Adventure program as a stepping stone to other careers. Jackson has stayed in touch with many of the graduates and is always impressed by the lives they are leading.

“Adventure, families, amazing guide careers, but our grads have also gone on to become teachers, firefighters, doctors, lawyers, paramedics, business owners, writers – you name it. I am proud that we build a set of keys for graduates to open up doors for themselves as they travel their own paths,” says Jackson.

As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of our Outdoor Adventure program, we are sharing 20 success stories including acknowledging the excellent faculty who teach in the program. Ian Pineau is the coordinator of the Outdoor Adventure Naturalist program, a program that started a few years after the Outdoor Adventure program began at the Pembroke Campus.

Ian says he was attracted to teaching in the program because he had envisioned a similar type of program while he was living in the Yukon and working for various guiding companies and outdoor education organizations.
“This program addressed a core issue in the industry around professionalism. The program’s purpose can be summed up in one sentence-Training professional guides for the Adventure Tourism industry. This was integral to my desire to teach in and help develop this and other programs,” says Pineau.

Pineau believes the Outdoor Adventure program has been a game-changer for the industry. “Until the program was introduced, industry was depending on individuals learning their trade through personal experience, trial and error as well as observation. Graduates from this program continue to supply industry with knowledgeable entry-level and middle management employees who have a sense of history, vision, and understanding some of the intrinsic value in outdoor pursuits. Many of those same graduates have gone on to become successful entrepreneurs and are now or will be Industry leaders, adds Pineau.

Pineau also believes student’s focus has changed since the early days of the program when many joined for the technical skills that were taught. “As years have passed there seems to me to be a more balanced appreciation of the theory classes in relation to the skills. This creates a more well-rounded and knowledgeable graduate who is not only able to secure entry-level employment but to progress in the Industry. This in turn pushes the Industry itself to become more professional in its program design and delivery,” says Pineau.