Cover Story | Lessons Learned: Levine Scholars

EXPOSE Lessons Learned: Levine Scholars Share Their NOLS Experience

One Story, Two Perspectives

By Sydney Hartsock NOLS Custom Education Assistant Director and Andrea Badillo-Perez NOLS Grad

All photos courtesy of Levine Scholars Program

The Levine Scholars Program is a partner of NOLS Custom Education. Every summer, the scholars begin their college career with a 25-day NOLS course in the Wind River Mountains. The following stories are written from the perspective of the Levine Scholars Program’s director, and by one of the students after her NOLS experience.

THE DIRECTOR

By Sydney Hartsock NOLS Custom Education Assistant Director

Diane Zablotsky didn’t start out as a NOLS believer.

Diane is the Faculty Director of the Levine Scholars Program at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, a partner of NOLS Custom Education. The Levine Scholars Program, funded by Charlotte-based philanthropists and business people Sandra and Leon Levine, provides full scholarships to select undergraduate students at the university.

The association with NOLS is due in part to the influence of Mike Richardson, a 1978 NOLS Absaroka Wilderness course graduate and the Leon Levine Foundation liaison to the scholarship program, who recommended that all scholars be required to take a NOLS course together the summer before their first year.

In addition to tuition and expenses, this comprehensive four-year scholarship program covers four summers of experiences intended to develop leadership skills, social awareness, and an international perspective in its scholars. Since the program’s inception in 2010, each cohort of Levine Scholars kicked off their college experience with a 25-day NOLS backpacking expedition. To date, 208 students have completed NOLS expeditions through the program.

Given the multitude of experiences Diane could choose to incorporate into the Levine Scholars Program, why send her students all the way to the mountains of Wyoming on a NOLS course? A trip to the majestic Appalachians or the North Carolina coast seemed like excellent candidates, she thought, and both were much closer to home.

“I’ve always been honest with the NOLS staff that I was not a believer going in,” Diane said. “And then the students came back.”

The transformation was palpable. “I tell the parents—and I believe this because I’ve watched it eleven times—you will see a different child come back to you than you sent to NOLS,” she continued. “There will be an awareness, a self-confidence, a measure of success that they won’t be able to articulate to you but it’s going to be there.”

Having observed numerous scholars depart and return from their NOLS expeditions over the past decade, Diane shared her reflections on the student transformations she has witnessed. Four themes stood out:

• Increased Tenacity: Through their experiences at NOLS, the scholars develop a growth mindset, grounded in the knowledge that they accepted a challenge that was harder than they could have imagined and then persevered. “They reflect on how, ‘at NOLS I didn’t give up. I couldn’t give up. I had trouble learning this skill. I asked for help. I got better at it,’” Diane explained. “I hear time and time again ‘if I can get through NOLS, I can get through this.’” • Changed Perspective on Leadership: Scholars learn that leadership has many dimensions. A leader doesn’t have to be perfect, know how to do everything, or be the loudest voice in the room. Instead, a leader can be a source of self- and group-awareness, helping the broader team work together to achieve a goal. “I find that collegiality is a kind

of leadership they bring back,” Diane reflected. “I think they learn how to listen to who can do what. They learn strong leadership means you bring on the person who has the skills you lack; that makes a stronger team.” • Appreciation for A Non-Linear Path: Students are typically chosen for the Levine Scholars Program based on a history of high achievement, which is often accompanied by perfectionism. Through both their experiences meeting unexpected obstacles during mountain travel and through discussions about life paths with their instructors, scholars are exposed to different ways of viewing success. “The instructors tell these really interesting biographies. And it’s one more example to say to an 18-year-old who’s being brought up in a world that is very linear and has very linear definitions of what success is, that there’s a whole other dimension to happiness and openness and other ways of charting your course,” Diane said. • Getting “Unplugged:” In a world where being

‘unplugged’ is so rare, the NOLS experience provides scholars with a sense of perspective and grounding in the present. Diane explained, “There are certain things that are needs, there are certain things that are wants, and students can now tell the difference. They always promise they won’t plug back in—though they always do—but having that grounding in learning to appreciate what’s in front of you, learning to take it a day at a time, and knowing that other things really are extraneous is another thing they learn at NOLS.” Above all, Diane found that one data point spoke decisively in favor of the partnership between the Levine Scholars and NOLS. “The feedback from the students was unanimous,” she said. “I’ve watched the students over the years become much more committed to what NOLS gives them. And so, we’ve never looked for an alternative to NOLS. Ever. Because that’s how committed I am to what the NOLS model is.”

Long having abandoned her initial skepticism about NOLS, Diane now reflects on the personal growth that she has experienced through interactions with her scholars: “I had to learn how to trust the students, and listen to them in new ways. The fact that they have the shared NOLS experience and increased awareness, and have developed the self-confidence to sometimes say to me, ‘you’re not listening to me’. And then for me to have the humility to say, ‘you’re right, let me try to be better at this…’ I think NOLS is part of their development that has helped me develop, and I’m grateful for that.”

Sydney Hartsock has worked as a NOLS field instructor since 2009, leading mountaineering, backpacking, and rock-climbing courses. She is currently the Acting Director of NOLS Custom Education and lives in Lander, Wyoming.

THE STUDENT

By Andrea Badillo-Perez NOLS Grad

We saw a bear twice. We forgot how to use our phones. It was magical and unforgettable—it was my NOLS course.

I’d never hiked a day in my life before this trip. I camped once, two streets down from my house in a friend’s backyard. Does that count? Regardless, it’s clear that in terms of outdoor skills, I was not prepared.

However, I knew I was physically capable since I’d played sports and been active all my life. I was also genuinely excited to see the beauty of Wyoming’s backcountry. I was aware there were going to be challenges, but I also knew I would grow. That mentality allowed me to discover strengths in myself I didn’t know existed. I can summarize these lessons with three simple phrases: Empty your cup. By going in with an acceptance that I had to learn plenty in order to have a successful trip, I was able to thrive in circumstances completely foreign to me. To empty my cup was to have a growth-oriented mindset from day one.

That’s not to say that I didn’t struggle; I did. The first time I attempted to build a tent, it took me an hour. The first time I cooked using a NOLS stove, I burnt the cheesy bagels we were having for breakfast. And, how was my first hike? Oh, that was dreadful! Muscles I didn’t even think I had ached. My hips were throbbing and my left shoulder was killing me. I was disillusioned with my surprisingly weak level of athleticism. I also couldn’t figure out a map for the life of me. Yet, what helped me overcome those and many more struggles was this simple phrase: “empty your cup.” I had to be conscious of how little I knew about these outdoor skills in order to learn and digest them. I had to be ready to fail before succeeding. Go as a river. When you’re in the middle of Wyoming for twenty-three days creating friendships with strangers, you have to follow this rule. It means to cultivate resiliency, inclusiveness, and ease. Because conflict is inevitable, respect for others’ opinions and beliefs is crucial for a productive community. By keeping this phrase in my mind, I learned how to be patient and calm when necessary. While making difficult decisions when scouting rivers, choosing hiking routes, or even picking who had to get water for a cook group, I had to overcome frustration by going as a river. Remember to look up. This was my favorite phrase and the mentality I most want to live by for the rest of my life. I put my whole heart into following this dogma, and it was the catalyst for the overwhelming abundance of laughter, joy, and fun I experienced at NOLS. It’s so easy to get distracted in this world. People are so preoccupied with cell phone screens and social media posts that they forget to just look up. Undoubtedly, there were moments on my course when I craved my iPhone, but whenever that crossed my mind, I looked up. And when I looked up, I rejoiced in the beauty of nature. Thanks to NOLS and the Levine Scholarship Program, I was able to go for more than three weeks without showering, washing my hair, looking at myself in the mirror; without watching television, scrolling through endless feeds of social media—without the only world I knew.

I was, instead, surrounded by majestic views of mountains and valleys, never-ending fields of flowers, calming bodies of water, and the most beautiful skies. I shared my days with the crispness of backcountry air, the freshness of unexpected pockets of snow, the warmth of the sun, and the viridity of trees and plants. There, I found myself more connected to life than ever. I felt my heart pump and my lungs inhale. Nothing about this type of life was artificial or man-made. Rather, everything was undisturbed, in its purest form, and showed me how human we all are.

NOLS helped me become a more patient, resilient, and present individual. It reminded me of the many wonders that distractions can obscure, but only if you let them. It showed me how to overcome stress in an effective manner, how to celebrate diversity, and how to embrace the reality that learning experiences will never cease to exist if you live your life in a boundless search for them. These are the skills I was gifted by my NOLS course, skills I feel grateful to have ingrained in my actions and identity throughout my time as a Levine Scholar. I wouldn’t have wanted to discover them any other way.

Andrea Badillo-Perez is a recent UNC Charlotte graduate who is soon starting medical school at NYU. A Puerto Rican native, she always admired nature, but it was on her NOLS course that her love for the mountains was born.