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Adventure Awaits: For 50 Years, Voyageur Has Embodied Experiential Learning
On a sunny May afternoon, nearly a dozen students are chatting happily aboard a minibus about building a hut in the woods, a place where they could all live together off the grid. During the half-hour trip, the conversation will turn to a rock-climbing competition in Richmond, Va., and then to the routes the teenagers will climb at their destination, Carderock Recreation Area on the Potomac River.
Once there, students pair off to build anchors around boulders and trees with intricate knots, silently setting their climbs over the steep rock face. Program Director John Velosky checks in with each group, asking questions and testing the setup, but his role is largely hands-off; the students run the show here. Once each system has been checked, the Upper Schoolers begin. They will spend hours alternately climbing and belaying their partner.
This is the Voyageur program, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary this fall. Through Voyageur, students in the heart of the nation’s capital come to learn about outdoor adventure and wilderness travel. Along the way, they cultivate a respect for the environment, an abiding belief in their own ability, and bonds of friendship that last decades.
Over its half-century, Voyageur has solidified itself as a comprehensive outdoor education program with offerings that range from rock-climbing and paddling to a sea-kayaking expedition through Everglades National Park.
“Outdoor sports have become a lot more mainstream than they were even 10 years ago. The fact that NCS and STA had a program that exposed people to those things as long ago as 50 years is really remarkable,” says Sophie Martin ’00.
Once there, students pair off to build anchors around boulders and trees with intricate knots, silently setting their climbs over the steep rock face. Program Director John Velosky checks in with each group, asking questions and testing the setup, but his role is largely hands-off; the students run the show here. Once each system has been checked, the Upper Schoolers begin. They will spend hours alternately climbing and belaying their partner.
This is the Voyageur program, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary this fall. Through Voyageur, students in the heart of the nation’s capital come to learn about outdoor adventure and wilderness travel. Along the way, they cultivate a respect for the environment, an abiding belief in their own ability, and bonds of friendship that last decades.
Over its half-century, Voyageur has solidified itself as a comprehensive outdoor education program with offerings that range from rock-climbing and paddling to a sea-kayaking expedition through Everglades National Park.
“Outdoor sports have become a lot more mainstream than they were even 10 years ago. The fact that NCS and STA had a program that exposed people to those things as long ago as 50 years is really remarkable,” says Sophie Martin ’00.
Velosky, who started as a Voyageur instructor in 2005 before becoming director in 2011, agrees, calling the program’s longevity “amazing” and the lasting result of a series of heads of school and program directors “who have fought for it to be what it is and stay what it is.”
Building a unique skill set
Students are introduced to Voyageur in Lower School, where the PE curriculum devotes two weeks each to climbing and paddling. The lessons include how to go up the 50-foot climbing tower inside the Athletic Center and how to exit a flipped-over kayak in St. Albans’s Lawrence Pool.
In Middle School, students can choose Voyageur as their sport each trimester. “We try to give them a mix of rock climbing, kayaking in the pool, and creating scenarios to help them work through problems and get them ready for Voyageur in the Upper School,” Velosky notes.
The Upper School program focuses more on teamwork, risk management, and harnessing outdoor-activity skills.
“When they graduate, if they’ve been in the program for a while, they should have all the tools they need to go out and be part of a climbing team or make good judgment calls on the river,” Velosky says.
A fairly recent addition to the Upper School’s outdoor climbing and river kayaking is competitive indoor climbing in the winter season. NCS and STA started the Washington Area Interscholastic Climbing League with Episcopal High School in the late 1990s. Now, teams from 11 local schools compete each year, and interest continues to grow. Nearly 40 NCS and STA students participated last winter.
“The atmosphere at meets is really cool because you’re working together with people on the same bouldering problem, and you’re all sharing ‘beta,’ or advice. No matter who gets there first, you’re really excited because you’ve all been working on this problem together,” Kate Robinson ’21 says.
Building a unique skill set
Students are introduced to Voyageur in Lower School, where the PE curriculum devotes two weeks each to climbing and paddling. The lessons include how to go up the 50-foot climbing tower inside the Athletic Center and how to exit a flipped-over kayak in St. Albans’s Lawrence Pool.
In Middle School, students can choose Voyageur as their sport each trimester. “We try to give them a mix of rock climbing, kayaking in the pool, and creating scenarios to help them work through problems and get them ready for Voyageur in the Upper School,” Velosky notes.
The Upper School program focuses more on teamwork, risk management, and harnessing outdoor-activity skills.
“When they graduate, if they’ve been in the program for a while, they should have all the tools they need to go out and be part of a climbing team or make good judgment calls on the river,” Velosky says.
A fairly recent addition to the Upper School’s outdoor climbing and river kayaking is competitive indoor climbing in the winter season. NCS and STA started the Washington Area Interscholastic Climbing League with Episcopal High School in the late 1990s. Now, teams from 11 local schools compete each year, and interest continues to grow. Nearly 40 NCS and STA students participated last winter.
“The atmosphere at meets is really cool because you’re working together with people on the same bouldering problem, and you’re all sharing ‘beta,’ or advice. No matter who gets there first, you’re really excited because you’ve all been working on this problem together,” Kate Robinson ’21 says.
Asha Butterworth ’21 agrees: “Even in competitive climbing, you’re not really against other people. You’re trying to do better than you did last time, and as long as you do that, you’re succeeding. Voyageur follows that thread of self-improvement.”
The quirky athletic option
Voyageur came to the Close in 1969, inspired by an Outward Bound program that St. Albans Headmaster Charles Martin visited in the United Kingdom. It began as a boys-only program; NCS joined during the 1971–1972 school year.
Today, as Upper Schoolers are required to participate in athletics each trimester, Voyageur remains the go-to option for a small but committed band of students.
While a range of reasons may draw them at first to the program, Velosky has noticed that once a student tries it for a trimester, she usually comes back.
Tiffany Fung ’08 didn’t feel connected to team sports at NCS and was looking for something different. Once she found Voyageur, she says, “At 3:30 pm every day, I would sprint down the hill to the Athletic Center. It was the highlight of my day.”
Fung, like many students in Voyageur, did not grow up doing outdoor sports and is grateful that NCS was able to expose her to them. Otherwise, Fung says, “I never would have known what my options were.” She now spends all of her time climbing around Europe, where she is finishing up her master’s degree.
Velosky and his predecessors have worked hard to create a unique culture during those afternoon hours.
“Anyone who’s going to choose rock climbing or kayaking is looking for a different experience. When they get here and realize they get to help steer the ship, they do a great job of welcoming in other students and creating a safe place for them to try something new,” Velosky says.
As a result, the relationships in Voyageur are strong and lasting: between the instructors and students, upperclassmen and underclassmen, and NCS and STA students. Those bonds get particularly deep once the group ventures into the backcountry.
Voyageur’s spring break expeditions have taken students to the Buffalo River in Arkansas, the Rio Grande in Texas, and several national parks: Big Bend, Zion, Joshua Tree, Arches, and Canyonlands among them. The Everglades trip stands tall as one of the foundational Voyageur experiences; generations of alumnae have braved the Florida waters.
These excursions throw students into the backcountry wilderness: no showers, miles of paddling or hiking each day, setting up and breaking down camp, and sleeping in tents. Though not for the faint of heart, each trip is a prime example of experiential learning.
Velosky teaches the Leave No Trace principles for outdoor ethics. On trips, students eat apple cores, use reef-safe sunscreen, and pack out all their trash.
“There’s no one coming to get them, no one with any supplies for them, and they’re carrying everything with them on the trip. We make sure they’re focused on their own needs, taking care of each other, and in the process, they go to some of the most incredible places in the country,” says Velosky.
The rewards are immeasurable, and alumnae and current students gush when sharing their tales of adventure. Sophie Martin recalls one of her favorite expeditions, to West Virginia over the Thanksgiving holiday, which is aptly remembered as the Stuffed-With-Turkey-I-Don’t-Think-I-Could-Fit-Through-There Caving Trip.
“You just learn so much about yourself, your classmates, the environment, how to cook, how to stay warm, first aid, and how to read a map.
It’s so far beyond what you get in a classroom or on a standard athletic team,” she says. Robinson recalls waking up in the middle of the night on a 2018 trip to the Buffalo River and stepping outside of her tent to a horizon full of stars.
“There are all these songs about diamonds in the sky, and it looked exactly like that! It was incredible.”
Even when a trip’s conditions don’t live up to expectations, magic can happen. This spring, on the Everglades trip, 10 students waited out a heavy storm in a couple of four-person tents, playing card games, making friendship bracelets, and talking for hours.
The quirky athletic option
Voyageur came to the Close in 1969, inspired by an Outward Bound program that St. Albans Headmaster Charles Martin visited in the United Kingdom. It began as a boys-only program; NCS joined during the 1971–1972 school year.
Today, as Upper Schoolers are required to participate in athletics each trimester, Voyageur remains the go-to option for a small but committed band of students.
While a range of reasons may draw them at first to the program, Velosky has noticed that once a student tries it for a trimester, she usually comes back.
Tiffany Fung ’08 didn’t feel connected to team sports at NCS and was looking for something different. Once she found Voyageur, she says, “At 3:30 pm every day, I would sprint down the hill to the Athletic Center. It was the highlight of my day.”
Fung, like many students in Voyageur, did not grow up doing outdoor sports and is grateful that NCS was able to expose her to them. Otherwise, Fung says, “I never would have known what my options were.” She now spends all of her time climbing around Europe, where she is finishing up her master’s degree.
Velosky and his predecessors have worked hard to create a unique culture during those afternoon hours.
“Anyone who’s going to choose rock climbing or kayaking is looking for a different experience. When they get here and realize they get to help steer the ship, they do a great job of welcoming in other students and creating a safe place for them to try something new,” Velosky says.
As a result, the relationships in Voyageur are strong and lasting: between the instructors and students, upperclassmen and underclassmen, and NCS and STA students. Those bonds get particularly deep once the group ventures into the backcountry.
Voyageur’s spring break expeditions have taken students to the Buffalo River in Arkansas, the Rio Grande in Texas, and several national parks: Big Bend, Zion, Joshua Tree, Arches, and Canyonlands among them. The Everglades trip stands tall as one of the foundational Voyageur experiences; generations of alumnae have braved the Florida waters.
These excursions throw students into the backcountry wilderness: no showers, miles of paddling or hiking each day, setting up and breaking down camp, and sleeping in tents. Though not for the faint of heart, each trip is a prime example of experiential learning.
Velosky teaches the Leave No Trace principles for outdoor ethics. On trips, students eat apple cores, use reef-safe sunscreen, and pack out all their trash.
“There’s no one coming to get them, no one with any supplies for them, and they’re carrying everything with them on the trip. We make sure they’re focused on their own needs, taking care of each other, and in the process, they go to some of the most incredible places in the country,” says Velosky.
The rewards are immeasurable, and alumnae and current students gush when sharing their tales of adventure. Sophie Martin recalls one of her favorite expeditions, to West Virginia over the Thanksgiving holiday, which is aptly remembered as the Stuffed-With-Turkey-I-Don’t-Think-I-Could-Fit-Through-There Caving Trip.
“You just learn so much about yourself, your classmates, the environment, how to cook, how to stay warm, first aid, and how to read a map.
It’s so far beyond what you get in a classroom or on a standard athletic team,” she says. Robinson recalls waking up in the middle of the night on a 2018 trip to the Buffalo River and stepping outside of her tent to a horizon full of stars.
“There are all these songs about diamonds in the sky, and it looked exactly like that! It was incredible.”
Even when a trip’s conditions don’t live up to expectations, magic can happen. This spring, on the Everglades trip, 10 students waited out a heavy storm in a couple of four-person tents, playing card games, making friendship bracelets, and talking for hours.
A lifelong impact
Voyageur offers a foundation for the future, whether by inspiring a career choice or lifelong hobby, or by instilling core values.
Rebecca Raynor ’93 came back to NCS as a Voyageur instructor in 2000 and later worked for the National Outdoor Leadership School for 11 years because it had the “Voyageur stamp of approval.” She now builds off those wilderness-leadership skills as an emergency-medicine physician in Lynchburg, Va.
Fung is working on an anatomy study, comparing human and mountain goat biomechanics, as part of her master’s degree in medical illustration.
Voyageur “gave me confidence. If I liked something and it wasn’t what everyone else was doing, that was okay, and I would have the support I needed,” Fung says.
Martin is an urban planner in Redwood City, Calif. Her career path started on those trips to Carderock, where she witnessed the interplay between city life and wilderness.
“I’ve always come at urban planning from a conservation standpoint, thinking about how we can use land and cities to be able to preserve the wild places,” she says.
The impact on current students is just as clear. Robinson wants to hike the Appalachian Trail after college. Another junior, Ashley Fujiyama ’21, has inspired her family to take up rock climbing, while one of Butterworth’s first questions on a college tour is whether the school has a climbing gym.
“The reason I find Voyageur so important is that it really shows you who you are as a person. There’s something about pushing your limits that reveals to you how powerful you can be and how much you can accomplish,” says Butterworth.
Voyageur offers a foundation for the future, whether by inspiring a career choice or lifelong hobby, or by instilling core values.
Rebecca Raynor ’93 came back to NCS as a Voyageur instructor in 2000 and later worked for the National Outdoor Leadership School for 11 years because it had the “Voyageur stamp of approval.” She now builds off those wilderness-leadership skills as an emergency-medicine physician in Lynchburg, Va.
Fung is working on an anatomy study, comparing human and mountain goat biomechanics, as part of her master’s degree in medical illustration.
Voyageur “gave me confidence. If I liked something and it wasn’t what everyone else was doing, that was okay, and I would have the support I needed,” Fung says.
Martin is an urban planner in Redwood City, Calif. Her career path started on those trips to Carderock, where she witnessed the interplay between city life and wilderness.
“I’ve always come at urban planning from a conservation standpoint, thinking about how we can use land and cities to be able to preserve the wild places,” she says.
The impact on current students is just as clear. Robinson wants to hike the Appalachian Trail after college. Another junior, Ashley Fujiyama ’21, has inspired her family to take up rock climbing, while one of Butterworth’s first questions on a college tour is whether the school has a climbing gym.
“The reason I find Voyageur so important is that it really shows you who you are as a person. There’s something about pushing your limits that reveals to you how powerful you can be and how much you can accomplish,” says Butterworth.
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Voyageur Program Director John Velosky with Upper School students at Carderock Recreation Area.
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Velosky leads the 8th-grade class on a rafting trip in Great Falls, Va., in 2012.
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Emnete Abraham ’19 practices for indoor-climbing competitions.
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Zoé Contreras-Villalta ’19, Lauren Carl ’19, and Ashley Fujiyama ’21 relax after a day of kayaking in Everglades National Park this April.
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Students canoe along the Rio Grande River in Big Bend National Park in 2011.
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Sophie Martin '00
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Tiffany Fung '08
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