Our Stellar Students: Christina Spohn, Recreation, Park and Tourism Management

Today, I’m beginning a project to share some of the stories of our outstanding Health and Human Development students. Many students responded to my call for guest bloggers to share their summer experiences, whether that’s in an internship, study abroad, research or some other activity. Here’s our first guest blog:

My name is Christina Spohn and I just finished my junior year at Penn State. I am a Recreation, Park and Tourism Management major focusing in Outdoor Recreation, and you will most likely find me outside, recreating! I am from outside of Pittsburgh, PA and I love all things outdoors- backpacking, fly fishing, rock climbing, biking and the list goes on! At Penn State I am involved in the Outing Club and On My Honor: Campus Girl Scouts of Penn State.My career plans are pretty up in the air, but I would love to work for a federal land management agency in the near future.

Before our summit of Casco Peak. I am in a white coat, farthest to the right

This summer I am working as a Logistics Intern for the Colorado Outward Bound School (COBS). COBS was the first Outward Bound school in the United States and has been in operation for over 50 years. We run courses ranging in length from 5-90 days focusing on character and leadership development through mountaineering, alpine backpacking and rock climbing.

Mt Massive is in the Sawatch mountain range

My role here is two-fold: will serve as a field and support intern. As a field intern, I will spend 20 days on mountaineering or backpacking course in the high peaks of Colorado, shadowing the course instructors. We teach students how to travel and live in the mountains, focusing on group dynamics and personal growth. As a support intern, I will be helping courses prepare for their field time, resupply them once or twice during their trip, and help the students close out the course. This includes shuttling students to and from their courses, packing food and gear and helping with evacuations and other course needs.

View of the Mesquite Mountain range.

There is an intern team of 20 people and we are based out of the COBS warehouse on our base in Leadville, CO. Leadville is the highest incorporated town in the U.S. at 10,200 feet, so we are right in the heart of the mountains! We have almost completed training, which consisted of a 6-day field section and 8 days of logistics training.

Ice axes became our best friends over the course of the trip!

For our field training, we rock climbed and summited Casco Peak, a 13,900 foot mountain in the Sawatch Range. Quite the epic job preparation! During logistics training we have been simulating course events and learning to drive F350 pickup trucks. I’m excited to keep you updated on my mountain adventures!