If these are the leaders of tomorrow, then we all have some amazing things to look forward to. These young passionate people are embracing everything the world has to offer and shouldn’t we all? The director of the Adventure Leadership Institute has the right idea in his philosophy that “Having adventures makes us all better leaders”. With places like the Columbia River Gorge we can all become better adventures and leaders. Read more about the Adventure Leadership Institute of OSU below.

Tourists by the thousands come to the Columbia River Gorge for fun and adventure. And for some, it’s a unique learning experience, too.Josh Norris directs the Adventure Leadership Institute at Oregon State University. Among the adventures he leads for students and other participants are canyoneering trips to Metlako Falls, below the better-known Punchbowl Falls. The falls are roughly a mile and a half down the Eagle Creek Trail, the trailhead for which is about 45 miles east of Portland. Josh believes adventure can be a transformative learning experience. Through activities like canyoneering, hiking and climbing, students learn to work together, stay calm under pressure and succeed no matter what life – or nature – throws at them. “We’re not just facilitating fun adventures for these students,” Josh says. “We want to make them better people, and better at whatever they end up doing in life.”

SRC: Find more about OSU’s Adventure Leadership Institute at: sites.oregonstate.edu/beaver-nation/everywhere/gorge/

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