Calling all teens: TRU wants to take aspiring guides on a 5-day canoe trip in Wells Gray Provincial Park
Canadian high school students aged 16 to 18 years old are being offered a remarkable opportunity to travel to British Columbia and embark on a five-day canoe trip in Wells Gray Provincial Park.
Ten students will learn camp craft and canoe skills in the wilderness while exploring the possibility of a career path in the outdoor adventure industry. A small fee of $100 goes directly to student bursaries for the program.
Working in the adventure industry might seem like a far-fetched dream, but graduates of Adventure Studies at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C. have successful jobs working for local governments, DMOs, educational institutions and as guides and managers for tour operators.
“We’re trying to reach out to domestic students and give them a high-impact experience that shows a career in the outdoors is possible,” says Sharman Learie, co-chair of the Adventure Studies Department.
This is a new initiative for TRU. Adventure Studies is already a popular program, but there are more jobs than current alumni can fill. This trip will not only combat the issue of youth spending more time on their phones by creating a mechanism to get them outdoors but will also showcase British Columbia’s expansive wilderness and adventure opportunities. Those who consider Ontario the mecca of canoeing need to see Clearwater Lake, the Cariboo Mountains and Helmcken Falls.
Open to high school students across Canada, applicants need to submit a 600-word essay describing their dream adventure job. “We’re looking for someone’s passion and curiosity, why they love the outdoors and why they think it’s important,” says Learie. “We hope to reach out to kids who might be looking to lay their career path and plant the seed of possibility.”
The trip will be run by younger alumni and faculty that are graduates from the program. This gives attendees the opportunity to talk to recent students who have been through the program and now have jobs in the industry.
“The program been around for 27 years—it started as a tourism strategy to promote ‘Super Natural British Columbia’,” Learie adds. “So this is a viable career.”
To learn more about the High School Canoe Trip, click here: https://www.tru.ca/adventure-studies/why-adventure-studies/canoe-trip.html
