Newswise — A group of West Virginia University students won't just experience mountains and moments when they spend 11 days in the Minnesota wilderness this spring.
If Greg Corio has his way, they'll come back to campus with a declared college major, too.
Corio is an outdoors enthusiast who manages WVU's "Adventure WV" program, which introduces rafting, rock-climbing and other nature pursuits to University students.
In May, though, he's launching another activity he hopes will go one even better: the Sophomore Outdoor Adventure Reorientation, or "SOAR" " a unique, 3-credit course designed to inspire adrift students to decide on college majors by way of Mother Nature.
Twenty-two inaugural SOAR sojourners will light out for the academic adventure in northern Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area, a pristine expanse of lakes, rivers and glacier-carved mountains nudging the Canadian border.
"It's definitely one of the best canoe areas in the United States," Corio said of the destination. "It's a natural ecosystem. It's home to loons, bald eagles, moose and beaver. It's got the largest natural population of timber wolves in the continental U.S."
From May 7-17, it will also be a classroom with a view.
While kayaking, hiking and other outdoor activities will rule the day, the evenings will belong to conversations around the campfire "moderated" by Corio and fellow course leader, Ian Kellem, a counselor at WVU's Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services.
The mission of those exchanges? To get students to map out a college major. "That's when we'll really hone in on the importance of setting academic goals and career goals," Corio said. "You have to have a declared major to do that."
"I'm hoping it will be like thinking out loud for our students," said Corio, who has led similar WVU treks to Texas, Utah and Arizona. "It gets more 'real' when you put it into words around people you're getting to know."
SOAR is open to general studies students who are completing their freshmen year this spring. Students must carry a minimum 2.0 grade-point-average. Openings in the first-ever excursion will be limited to 22 students, which is roughly the size of a conventional classroom at WVU.
An informational session will be held at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, in the main lobby (next to the snack bar) of the Student Recreation Center on the Evansdale campus. The first day of signups is Feb. 15, and Corio encourages students to put their names down early, because of the limited space.
Cost per student is $550 " or $50 a day " and includes food, transportation, equipment and other related fees.
"That's a bargain and beyond," Corio said, "when you think about the whole experience."
Students will also stay in touch in the fall, Corio said, with five "reunion" classes on campus " sessions continuing that campfire dialogue to keep the focus on academic goals.
The group will also come together for a day of rock-climbing and community service, Corio said.
"You don't always have to have four walls to have a great class," Corio said, "although with this one, I think we're going to have to best of both worlds: an adventure in Minnesota followed up with good, solid sessions on campus."
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