In New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness, the hills roll and cut down abruptly into cliff faces falling into the riverbank. A group of young hikers below gazes up in awe at the rocks, which jut like a massive fence outlining the water and its surrounding grassland. After the hikers set up camp that night, their guides will tell them more about Gila, the first designated wilderness of its kind in the United States. But unlike other nature trips, they’ll also talk about another special place where the terrain is decidedly flat, but where a spirit stands as tall as the imposing cliffs.

These hikers are incoming Texas A&M University freshmen participating in Venture Camp, an orientation program similar to Fish Camp. But instead of a traditional summer camp, their experience is structured around a weeklong outdoor expedition. “They talk about Aggie traditions while backpacking through New Mexico or canoeing down the Buffalo River,” said Jason Kurten ’98 ’09. “We hope they see their first time as an Aggie as an opportunity to push themselves out of their comfort zone.”

For nine years until recently, Kurten directed Outdoor Adventures (OA), a campus program under Rec Sports that coordinates Venture Camp and other initiatives helping Aggies experience nature. “Our bread and butter has been teaching people skills they can use for a lifetime and providing them what they need to explore the outdoors,” he said. OA’s services include organized trips for Aggies and Bryan-College Station residents, survival skills classes, an exhaustive collection of outdoor gear available for rent and the Student Recreation Center’s impressive indoor rock-climbing wall.

Our bread and butter has been teaching people skills they can use for a lifetime and providing them what they need to explore the outdoors.

Jason Kurten '98 '09

When Kurten’s mentor, the late Patsy Kott ’90, founded OA in 1985, it was one of the first outdoor recreation programs in the state. An avid traveler and outdoorswoman, Kott wanted to provide Aggies with access to the natural world’s most thrilling, awe-inspiring and perspective-shifting experiences. “Patsy loved to paddle, scuba dive, kayak and canoe,” Kurten said. “Those were her favorite things in the world, and she saw the positive impact those activities had on students.” Kott directed the program until her retirement in 2013. After she lost her battle with cancer in 2015, the Department of Recreational Sports received a bequest from her estate to help establish an endowed scholarship to support OA student staff members.

“There are clear physiological, psychological and even spiritual benefits to being in nature,” Kurten stated. “Students who travel with us slow down and get away from the hustle and bustle of their normal lives. They work as a team, have meaningful conversations with strangers and build real connections.” Those connections and experiences have made a lasting impression on former students like Lauren ’08 and Marcus Dunn ’06 ’09, who established a $25,000 need-based scholarship to help incoming freshmen attend Venture Camp. “Jason and everyone at OA have been great stewards of the outdoors,” Lauren said. Marcus concurred: “We met so many good friends through the program—people we still keep in touch with today.”

We met so many good friends through the program—people we still keep in touch with today.

Marcus Dunn '06 '09

“Lauren and Marcus’ gift will help us ensure that these experiences aren’t limited to those who can afford it,” Kurten said. OA still has plenty of room to grow, and more opportunities to support it are forthcoming. But it has already proven successful at showing Aggies the wild, wild world that lies just beyond Aggieland