We all come from community, and we all exist in one, or often more communities in our adult lives. I am the single child of a single woman who has had two serious relationships with men in her almost 60 years and lost both of them to heart failure. I come from a strong network of hard working people who supported my mother as neighbors, friends, and coworkers and I feel close sense of community with my large extended family.
However, I have also felt like someone who has never landed, who has never fully belonged, blended, or "found my people". I had a father until I was three, I identify with children of single mothers. Struggle was familiar to me as a child, my mother working many hours to send me to better schools, play on teams, and pursue my passion for music. I have been close with the financial thick and even more so with the thin. Always feeling like a grandfather clock's pendulum, or a tennis ball at Wimbledon, never resting.
I yearn to create my own community, my own team of like minded, similar hearted people. The NOLS course I am aiming for will be a clear path to doing so. Three months in the wilderness building bonds with the classmates around me, and of bonding with my self will lay the groundwork for creating those human connections in nature everywhere I go. This course will give me the physical skills, intellectual knowledge, and emotional stamina to guide others through wildernesses in which I can facilitate friendship, learning, and self reliance. I want to call forth communities around me built on trust and respect, that have a depth and breadth that can only come from the energetic exchange we have when out of doors with our minds open and cell phones turned off. The community building ripple effect of this course could be trans-continental, if I'm very lucky.
I believe that living, breathing, human resources are often our best. I am asking you to exchange some energy with me, and with every life I touch after completing my NOLS outdoor teacher course. In our society, there are certain communities that take money to join. There's equipment, travel, tuition, and more. I need money to enter a community that will enable me to create natural and wild spaces for many who don't have the privileges that we enjoy.

The NOLS spring semester course for outdoor educators  takes place in Wyoming and Utah from February to May, teaching me basic backpacking and hiking skills, but also involving backcountry skiing, avalanche testing, whitewater canoeing, canyoneering, and rock climbing. After completing this course, I will be Wilderness First Responder and Recreation Level 1 Avalanche certified, and I will also receive college credit for the terms I am away from COA (after paying a fee for transferring these credits in, of course). 
My NOLS semester  begins with a 10 day Wilderness First Responder course at NOLS' Three Peak Ranch in Boulder, Wyoming. After that, the winter section begins, lasting 15-21 days throughout several Wyoming mountain ranges. I will learn the basics of backcountry skiing, skiing with a sled, snow camping, and winter ecology. The next 16-18 day portion will be spent canoeing in Utah, on either the Green, Yampa, or San Juan Rivers. I will learn river camping techniques, river hydrology, simple rescue techniques, and canoeing techniques of all levels - in order to progress from traveling in flat water into whitewater rapids. The canyon section lasts for 23-30 days in the canyon country of the Colorado Plateau in southeastern Utah; there, I will learn to lead groups in a desert environment and also about the human and natural history of the environment around me. During this section, I have the option of completely a solo section - being completely alone in one area for 36 hours. From canyoneering, we will rock climb for 20-26 days. Climbing camps become our base camps; we'll set up tents, establish a kitchen, and stay in one place for the duration of the section. 

This course is everything I’ve ever dreamed of learning and doing, but I never had the resources or courage to attempt something like this, until now. I originally thought I was going to receive a bit more in financial aid, but unfortunately reached the limit on the one loan that applies to this course. And even with a scholarship from NOLS, the course is still incredibly expensive, but I’m willing to put every penny I’ve earned over the summer into it. I worked two jobs for the entire summer, in hopes of saving enough money, and even though I’ve saved a decent amount I also have to pay for travel fees, gear  for the course, and the transfer of credits. Basically, I can’t afford this on my own, and I’m attempting to reach out to family members, but I am desperately reaching out to my community as well through this GoFundMe campaign. Any contribution helps, and I promise in return to write letters and give updates on this trip when I’m not completely in the backcountry. So, if you can afford to, please donate to this campaign, and help me embark on a trip of a lifetime!