Overview

Explore a living desert and find your leadership style on the Semester in the Southwest. Discover a desert that’s alive with coyote and javelina, mesquite and cactus.

On this course, you’ll learn the outdoor skills to explore rivers and mountains. Follow the Rio Grande through steep, red sandstone canyons and wander ponderosa pine forests. Climb rocks warmed by the sun and explore the paths of underground caves. You might explore the cliff dwellings of ancient indigenous cultures or fall asleep listening to coyotes howl. Whether you know a lot or a little about the outdoors, you’ll find challenges on this course that will push your limits and help you grow.

And this course is about more than outdoor skills. You’ll also dive deep into your leadership style. Every day will have new challenges that will push you to grow. Navigating a challenging route becomes a lesson in decision making. Setting goals for a climbing route becomes an opportunity for self-leadership. Living in a small community presents opportunities to practice communication and responsibility. If you’re ready for a challenge that will prepare you to lead, this is the course for you.

*This course travels on the Rio Grande, which is one of the original rivers protected by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968.

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