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Adventure Programming Track

A Vanguard Gap Year Story

By HoneyRock Center for Leadership Development

December 21^st, 2022

Part IV

This story is part four of a four-part series. This four-part story series focuses on Vanguard Gap Year and the three Tracks (Equestrian, Journeys, and Adventure Programming) that Vanguard students participate in during their year at HoneyRock. Follow along as we continue to release the remaining two parts, each focusing on one of the three Vanguard Tracks.

PART I: WHY WE WORK? | READ NOW

PART II: THE EQUESTRIAN TRACK | READ NOW

PART III: THE Journeys TRACK | READ NOW

What is Adventure Programming?

The Adventure Programming Track is the newest of the three Vocational Tracks within the Vanguard Gap Year Program. It provides Vanguards with work experiences that focus on hospitality, retail, and activity facilitation.

School Year Program Director, Charlie Goeke shared about how the Vanguard Adventure Track offers a unique work experience at HoneyRock:

“Adventure Programming is the only Track that is externally facing. They’re interacting with guests who come in and out of our facility and our programs. They get the opportunity to navigate that as a part of their experience in that Adventure Programming Track. So, they work on tangible things like public speaking, customer care, and facilitating activities. They focus on how to do all of that in a professional and hospitable way.”

Charlie continued, explaining that Vanguards who are “really interested in education, working with kids, or if they want to work in this outdoor setting” find this Track to be a really applicable experience for them.

The Adventure Programming Track exists to partner and support the mission of Vanguard Gap Year at HoneyRock through the unique vocational opportunity of integrating spiritual development with hospitality ministry and the facilitation of outdoor adventure programming.

Josie Schultz, Vanguard Program Coordinator

The Hope & The Heart

The Adventure Track is designed to combine many different Christ-like characteristics, and to teach emerging adults to live with confidence in their faith. Josie Schultz explained her hope for Vanguards in this Track:

“The hope is to understand hospitality and a full view of programming. I hope that they are also challenged to consider what a retreat means within the Bible. When we program for Christian groups, it is important to understand what they need spiritually to be recharged. We also will focus heavily on the idea of sabbath, working in the place that you live can be challenging, I hope that Vanguards can begin to figure out what it means to live and work as a Christian.”

"I hope that Vanguards can begin to figure out what it means to live and work as a Christian.”

Kaylee Kooyman (Fellow '22, OAL '24) working in the Beehive

Betsy Oda (OAL '23) packing in at the Trip Locker

Vanguards ('22) building the broomball court

Opportunities for the Community

Vanguards in this Track facilitate activities for both guest groups and the community that lives on campus at HoneyRock during the school year. The indoor rock-climbing wall is open for climbing nights during the school year, which Vanguards in Adventure Track are often in charge of facilitating. Similarly, Vanguards in the Adventure Track open the Beehive on Thursday nights for the HoneyRock School Year community.

Libby Gerhart, a Vanguard in the Adventure Track, spoke on how this work experience promotes Christ-like hospitality:

“The outdoors is super formational, and the Adventure Programming Track as a whole, encourages a lot of Christ-like characteristics. It encourages hospitality, as we welcome in retreat groups. It encourages community, keeping our spaces clean and welcoming everyone in the Beehive. It’s been helping me see how these Christ-like characteristics should be played out, both in community and in work.”

Cole Nelson (OAL '23) and Sharlotte White (Vanguard '23) talking about the programming for a high school retreat

Davis Dunlap (Vanguard '23) with a group of High School Students in a leadership seminar

Libby Gerhart (Vanguard '23) helping a child with his climbing harness

Biblical Hospitality

Libby Gerhart also spoke on how the Adventure Track works to implement HoneyRock’s values:

“Our job is to play a part in fostering the community that the mission statement of HoneyRock talks about, being a place to foster growth and formation. We get to play a part in that..."

Libby continues, "In hospitality that means we’re fostering a space to have fun and be challenged with the activities or creating a space to come together and to feel safe. We’re also creating a clean space with the housekeeping, so that people feel like they can engage.”

Tori MacDonald (Fellow '22, OAL '24) outside of housekeeping

Davis Dunlap (Vanguard '23) cleaning a shower in a HoneyRock cabin

Caroline Houseworth, Sharlotte White, Davis Dunlap, and Libby Gerhart (Vanguards '23) cleaning the classrooms below the Chapel

Vanguard taking the trash out of the Vanguard Center

Discernment for the Future

This Track gives Vanguards a well-rounded experience in many different areas of outdoor/camp ministry. The schedule for Vanguards in this track varies from week-to-week, depending on retreats, events, and the needs of Guest Services (housekeeping). Vanguards in the Adventure Programming Track are split into teams in order to tackle the different jobs each week. One part of the team might spend their week on housekeeping, while another part of the team is focused on the Beehive. These different areas give Vanguards a wide range of experiences in the many different facets of HoneyRock’s ministry.

This Track gives Vanguards a well-rounded experience in many different areas of outdoor/camp ministry.

Davis Dunlap, a Vanguard in the Adventure Track spoke on how the Adventure Programming Track is helping him discern his future:

“It’s good work experience in the Beehive. We do inventory with the shop clothes and merchandise, and I’ve never done anything like that before. It’s a good experience, a good learning process and getting view of, what job potentials would be for my future. Also, I could work at a summer camp during the summer as well because we also do outdoor activities like canoeing, archery, and rock climbing. So, it’s a year with a lot of learning!"

"There’s a lot potential in what I’ve learned and how it connects to the rest of my life.”

The boards in the Beehive designed by the '22 Vanguards

Betsy Oda (OAL '23) and Caroline Houseworth (Vanguard '23) in the Beehive

Libby Gerhart (Vanguard '23) working in the Beehive

Mural in the Beehive done by the '22 Vanguards

Coordination & Collaboration

The Adventure Track often collaborates with the other Tracks. They coordinate trail rides for retreats with the Equestrian Track, collaborate with the Kitchen to organize meals for guests, and work on special projects with the operations crews. For example, in the first year of the Adventure Track, the Vanguards rebuilt Bud's Bridge that connects Doe's Acres and Beaver Island, two of HoneyRock's campsites.

'23 Vanguards with Josie Schultz, Vanguard Program Coordinator who works with the Adventure Track , on the Adventure Track Wilderness Trip

'23 Vanguards on the Adventure Programming Wilderness Trip

Betsy Oda (OAL '23), Josie Schultz (OAL '23), and '23 Vanguards on the Adventure Track Wilderness Trip

Vanguards putting away canoes for the winter

Programing in Creation

Like the other Tracks, Adventure Programming Track encourages spiritual growth in many different ways. This Track gives students space to learn about what leadership looks like in both Christian and secular settings.

The Adventure Programming Track encourages spiritual growth in many different ways. This Track gives students space to learn about what leadership looks like in both Christian and secular settings.

Josie Schultz talks about this idea, explaining how she coaches Vanguards in the Adventure Programming Track when it comes to working with a variety of guest groups:

“The Adventure Track is a unique opportunity for those who want to learn more in depth about adventure programming, they wrestle with questions such as, what is the role of a facilitator? How do I plan for groups that follow Jesus and for those who do not follow Jesus? The Adventure Programming Track is also unique in how much they work with outside guests, they get to carefully consider how what they learn at Vanguard applies to the outside world.”

Davis Dunlap (a Vanguard in the Adventure Programming Track) shared his thoughts on how a relationship with God can be strengthened in the outdoors and how adventure ministry is designed to encourage creation engagement:

“A lot of the stuff that we do is outdoors. What we've learned with some of the classes that we've been taking, is that it's really easy to find God in the outdoors. We can have good connections and good conversations with God outside, and through doing adventure-style activities. Also, we can have good fellowship with the fellow Vanguards, grads, or pro staff, or people coming on the retreats. We can learn so much from other people and also God as well in Creation.”

"we can have good fellowship with the fellow Vanguards, grads, or pro staff, or people coming on the retreats. We can learn so much from other people and also God as well in Creation.”

Sharlotte White (Vanguard '23) cleaning the windows in the Upper Chalet

Vanguards facilitating crafts with visiting High School Students

Purposeful Challenge

Leading retreats, working in the Beehive (camp store), and serving in various capacities around HoneyRock proves to be a very full experience. As the Vanguard Program intends to do, the Adventure Track teaches students how to step up into challenge and lead in a Christ-like manner. Libby Gerhart didn’t originally decide to be in the Adventure Track, until she realized how much it could help her grow as a person; she described how she came to choose the Adventure Track instead:

“It was actually my second choice. I was going to do the Journeys Track, because that one felt more comfortable for me… But the Adventure Track, I realized, would force me to get out of my comfort zone and work on my leadership skills. So, I chose this Track in order to challenge myself. I've never been a super vocal leader and I never really saw myself being able to something like facilitate rock climbing for an entire guest group (like we did the other day). I'm really glad that I chose this Track.

"But the Adventure Track, I realized, would force me to get out of my comfort zone and work on my leadership skills. So, I chose this Track in order to challenge myself. ... I'm really glad that I chose this Track."

Vanguards on the Spring Adventure Track Trip

Vanguards working on a service project during their Track trip

Vanguards having fun cleaning the lower Chapel

Vanguards touring Spring Hill on their Adventure Track Trip

Vanguards and Betsy Oda (OAL '23) and Josie Schultz (OAL '23)

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Footnotes

Written by Olivia Sanchez Moreno | Photos by Olivia Sanchez Moreno (Vanguard '23), Caleb Ledbetter (Vanguard '23), Mikka Forsyth (Vanguard '22), Betsy Oda (OAL '23), and Rachael Dickerson (Vanguard '22)