Sandy Colhoun - Building Leaders Through Outdoor Education
Sandy Colhoun is the President of the National Outdoor Leadership School, also known as NOLS.
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Founded in 1965 by legendary mountaineer Paul Petzolt, NOLS is widely considered to be the world’s premier wilderness school, and its mission is “to be the leading source and teacher of wilderness skills and leadership that serve people and the environment.” NOLS operates in many of the world’s wildest outdoor classrooms, and it provides the highest quality instruction in many outdoor skills, including wilderness travel, mountaineering, rock climbing, sea kayaking, and more. But perhaps most importantly, through these outdoor adventures, NOLS students learn the foundational and all-important life skills of leadership, teamwork, humility, and responsibility.
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Sandy was named the seventh President of NOLS in October of 2023, after serving as the interim President and, before that, as a member of the NOLS Board of Trustees. Prior to his work with NOLS, he had spent much of his career in the worlds of education and journalism, most notably leading a $750 million fundraising campaign at Colby College in Maine. Sandy is also a proud graduate of a NOLS Wind River Mountaineering course, and he’s no stranger to hardcore outdoor adventures– he worked as a ski patroller in Park City, climbed in Alaska, Nepal, and Bolivia, and cycled up and over the Himalayas from Tibet to Nepal. As you’ll hear in our conversation, he’s focused, driven, and lots of fun, and he’s s fully committed to leading NOLS into the future.
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I’m a proud graduate of a 1999 semester-long NOLS course, which was hands-down one of the most formative and valuable experiences of my entire life. Yes, I learned plenty of outdoor skills that have served me well for nearly 25 years now, but the most important lessons were those that taught me the value of good exhibition behavior, being comfortable in uncomfortable situations, and keeping a positive attitude when life gets difficult. If not for that semester, I highly doubt I would’ve ever moved out west, worked in conservation, or started this podcast. So, I’m obviously a superfan of all things NOLS.
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I was so excited to chat with Sandy, and we covered a lot in our hour-long conversation. We discussed the history of NOLS, what separates NOLS from other wilderness schools, risk management, exhibition behavior, expanding one’s comfort zone, a description of the ideal NOLS student, Sandy’s own leadership style, his vision for the future of NOLS, how he will measure success, leaders that Sandy admires, favorite books, and much more. Be sure to check out the episode notes for links to everything we discuss.
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A huge thank you to Sandy for being so generous with his time and for everything he and the entire team at NOLS do to make the world a better place. Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoy!
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- NOLS
- Sandy Calhoun
- Ed's Freeflow Institute Workshop
- Full episode notes and links: https://mountainandprairie.com/sandy-colhoun/
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TOPICS DISCUSSED:
4:00 - A brief history of NOLS
8:15 - What sets NOLS apart from other outdoor schools
10:30 - Discussing NOLS’ partnerships
13:00 - How NOLS manages risk
16:30 - The talent of NOLS instructors
19:00 - What “expedition behavior” is
22:15 - How NOLS recruits students in a world that prioritizes job opportunities and career advancement
24:45 - How NOLS expands one’s comfort zone
28:45 - The ideal NOLS student
30:15 - Determining the next chapter of NOLS in the early 2020s
33:30 - Sandy’s career pre-NOLS
37:00 - Sandy’s leadership style
42:30 - How Sandy got his mind around the task of taking the helm at NOLS
46:00 - Measuring future success at NOLS
49:00 - Leaders that Sandy admires
52:15 - Sandy’s book recommendations
58:15 - Sandy’s parting words of wisdom, and how you can support NOLS
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