Outdoor Adventure Leadership graduate James Nolan tells us about his experience
Outdoor Adventure Leadership, 2018
2018 Outdoor Adventure Leadership graduate, James Nolan tells us about his UCLan experience and how it’s led to numerous worldwide opportunities that include living and working in both India & California.
“My time at UCLan has offered me the best balance of highly experienced and dedicated teaching staff along with some of the finest opportunities to develop skills that are valuable within any context. The course is flexible and students are encouraged to tailor their learning toward their own personal goals.
“Furthermore, students are consistently fed crucial knowledge by course leaders in their respective fields. Whether it was our lecturers at the UCLan campus or through practical’s at the prestigious National Mountain Training Centre in Wales, we were always made to feel important.
"The chances offered to us to get real world experience were absolutely invaluable as well. These opportunities catered for different interests, whether that involved the outdoors, the military, the emergency services, education, entrepreneurship or more.
“My own journey began with few of the personal and technical skills I now have today. Nonetheless, there was always opportunities to develop upon these skills. This led to further opportunities such as working as a rock climbing instructor in California, learning winter skills in Scotland, learning to ski in France, snowshoeing in Italy and paddling on rivers and seas around the world. This development culminated in my second year when I had the opportunity to intern with Outward Bound India – Himalaya where I lived, worked, and played for a whole year. Backed with my industry knowledge I was able to return and achieve a First Class Honours in my degree before being employed for the Outward Bound Trust in the UK – a goal I had been working towards since beginning my studies.
“It is easy to say that the degree has led to some of the most fulfilling times of my life, allowing me to work and play in a variety of locations all over the world. These experiences have allowed me to develop both as a person and a professional. Even today, within the outdoor industry, the fact I studied at UCLan appears to be revered highly by employers for these same reasons and the graduates it produces. I would highly recommend this course to anybody considering it. It has acted as a rocket for both me, and a number of my peer, towards our desired goals. Alternatively, if you are not sure what those goals are, there is enough variety in the degree that you are highly likely to find out what you want those goals to be.”