Page 92 - Southern Oregon Magazine Summer 2021

feature | education

ROGUE COMMUNITY COLLEGE (RCC) OUTDOOR
ADVENTURE LEADERSHIP DEGREE

Rogue Community College also offers an outdoor training program
through its Outdoor Adventure Leadership Degree, which is connected
with SOU’s Bachelor of Science in Outdoor Adventure Leadership.
RCC’s program allows students to complete the first two years of the
four-year degree and offers opportunity for self-development and lead-
ership skills through outdoor adventure.

The curriculum teaches skills that transfer to all aspects of life with
coursework that includes technical skills, interpersonal development,
communication, group dynamics, expedition planning, adventure pro-
gramming, risk management, wilderness emergency management, and
social, environmental, and economic stewardship.

While the program does not offer the depth of SOU Bachelor’s pro-
gram, graduates of the two-year program come out with marketable
skills, as well as opportunity to further pursue their studies. According
to Rhonda Misner, Chair of the Health, PE, Recreation Department,
“Graduates are prepared for a limited number of jobs, or prepared
to continue their journey toward careers in outdoor recreation, out-
door education adventure, wilderness therapy, or tourism and leisure
enterprises.”

Local businesses benefit from SOU and RCC’s programs, such as Rogue
Valley ZipLine Adventure, which owner Lindsey Rice started ten years
ago on land she already owned. She hires students and graduates to learn

Rogue Valley Zipline
90 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | summer 2021