Partnership Forged Between Adirondack Experience and NOLS

Dr. Lawrence Soroka, director of the Adirondack Experience, said the partnership is made possible through the College's Study Abroad Program and the new Expeditionary Studies Major offered by the Adirondack Experience Program.

"The NOLS is one of the leading organizations in adventure leadership education," said Soroka. "This could not have come at a better time for Plattsburgh State because we have just been approved to begin offering our new major, Expeditionary Studies, which will enroll its first students this fall."

Soroka is very optimistic about the joint venture between SUNY Plattsburgh and the NOLS.

"This affiliation shows Plattsburgh State's continued commitment to the goals of adventure education," he said. 

As part of the newly formed partnership, SUNY Plattsburgh will host the NOLS bus visit on Tuesday, April 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Amite Plaza and from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Hawkins Hall.

Powered by recycled vegetable oil and solar power, this educational program on wheels will provide an active, environmentally conscious way for the campus and the community to learn about the NOLS's educational program for outdoor skills and leadership. The bus is sponsored by Silk(tm), the makers of organic soymilk.

There will also be a multimedia presentation, "The Long Walk 2004" by NOLS instructor, Dave Anderson, at 7:30 p.m. in Krinovitz Recital Hall, Hawkins Hall.

This event is sponsored by the Adirondack Experience Program and College Auxiliary Services and is free and open to the public.

The presentation will include a lecture and slide show about the 2004 journey from Siberia to India by Anderson and his NOLS's team.

This trip was first made in 1941 by Slamovir Rawicz and a small group of prisoners of war who escaped from a Soviet labor camp in Siberia. They crossed the Gobi Desert and passed through Tibet, over the Himalayas and went on to what was then British India. 

Anderson has been a mountaineer and climbing instructor at NOLS since 1996. He also works as a recruiter for NOLS by traveling the country and presenting slide shows. He is a professional photographer, and some of his photos have appeared in Climbing Magazine , RockandIce Magazine , The American Alpine Journal , National Geographic and The Patagonia Catalog .

NOLS is one of the leading sources for teachers of wilderness skills and leadership in the United States. NOLS courses are designed to help people develop and practice the skills they need to live, travel and play safely in the outdoors.

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Expeditionary Studies Major Approved

SUNY Plattsburgh has received final approval from SUNY and the State Education Department to offer its new academic major in Expeditionary Studies.

The only program of its kind in New York State, and one of a handful like it in the country, the new program will offer a rigorous course of study bringing together advanced outdoor skills in rock and ice climbing, backcountry skiing and sea kayaking, with the academic training necessary for decision making and management in outdoor settings.

For more information on this exciting new program, contact Dr. Larry Soroka, director of the Adirondack Experience Program, at 518-564-5292.
 
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