HPW Student Internship Experience – Matt Gerber 16′
Dress up dance parties, white water rafting, canoeing, kayaking, high ropes course, rock wall, rock climbing, and adaptive cycling. Interning at the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center (BOEC) will have you adapting all these activities and tailoring them to groups of individuals with disabilities. Since June I have helped individuals with cerebral palsy climb the rock wall, I have loaned my eyes to those with visual
impairments as they felt the rush of water filtering through browns canyon, took individuals from Jefferson center for mental health to go camping and kayaking without judgment, and danced till my wig fell off alongside characters with traumatic brain injuries. The BOEC is known for setting up courses for individuals with disabilities, being a non-profit, the BOEC relies heavily upon its 12 interns allowing hands on experience in facilitation, various technical skills and non-stop opportunities for social skills as you spend 24 hours a day with participants while on course. The internship starts with three weeks of training including participating in every activity the BOEC has to offer, practice hard skills including various knots and procedures and driving courses as you will be driving a 15-person van (sometimes filled with 15 screaming kids). A brief example of a day on course includes setting up, cooking and cleaning breakfast lunch and dinner, getting participants ready for activity then helping them perform activity, implementation and facilitation of various activities (name games, ice breakers, etc…) pulling all necessary gear for activities, and most of all ensuring participants are having fun! One word to sum up this internship, fulfillment. Fulfilling my thirst for giving a helping hand and witnessing that smile, that uncontrollable shake of happiness from an immobile human as they zip line off the ropes course, those goosebumps rise from my arm as a hemiplegic rings the bell at the top of the rock wall. Feeling the emotions money can’t buy is my favorite part of the BOEC….along with the free housing, free food, and 100$ monthly stipend.
Objectives
- Behavior:
- Establish camp participants’ strengths and needs prior to starting course they had signed up for such as camping, kayaking, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, high ropes course, canoeing, whitewater rafting and biking.
- Determine camp participants’ goals and objectives prior to starting course they had signed up for camping, kayaking, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, high ropes course, canoeing, whitewater rafting and biking.
- Evaluate and debrief the courses including camping, kayaking, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, high ropes course, canoeing, whitewater rafting and biking outcomes from the feedback of the course’s participants.
- Promotion and Marketing:
- Create and present disability awareness presen
- Assist internship program coordinator in developing fundraising events, writing grants and budgeting.
- Collaborate with internship program coordinator employing marketing and advertising including pamphlets, brochures and magazines.
- Organizational Experiences:
- Develop course itineraries for camping, kayaking, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, high ropes course, canoeing, whitewater rafting and biking.
- Arrange course activities including camping, kayaking, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, high ropes course, canoeing, whitewater rafting and biking.
- Plan course food menus for overnight or day trips including camping, kayaking, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, high ropes course, canoeing, whitewater rafting and biking.
On-Site Supervisor
Mya Magney
Internship Program Director
524 Wellington Rd
PO Box 697
Breckenridge, CO 80424
internship@boec.org
(970) 453-0146
Hours
40-45 hours/week
Stipend
$100/Month
UW-Stevens Point Students Who Completed Internship
- Matt Gerber, Summer 2016 (pictured above)