Testimonials and Experiences

Student Experiences
Parent Experiences

• Carrie's Experience
• In the summer of 1993 I found myself in the middle of the desert. I was a student at a wilderness program at the age of 16. I was battling depression and self loathing issues. My relationship with my mother was almost non-existent and I was more unhappy than I had ever been. I was fortunate enough to cross paths with a trail supervisor named Shayne. He was not my direct counselor at the time, as he was in charge of everything happening on the trail. But he found a way to impact my life more than any other person that I encountered there. I remember vividly one evening, he shared with me what he calls, "The Purple Dot."(If you have the chance to meet him, beg him to share it with you.) The profound effect that not only that story, but the storyteller had upon my life is something I cannot explain. He is the kind of person that is truly gifted at reaching inside a teenager’s soul and bringing to light it’s innate greatness. I don't know exactly how it happened but somehow I suddenly could see who I really was, that I was loved, that there was tremendous hope for my future, and that I truly could love life and its possibilities. I believe I can guarantee that if you and your child have the opportunity to work with Shayne while on the road to recovery, you will experience, like I did, his very unique ability to assist in the remarkable healing power only the wilderness can bring.
  ~ Carrie ~

• Sandra's Experience
• The wilderness was a foreign place to me and I often felt out of place. Shayne was someone who helped me find my place in the outdoors. He taught me how to cross a creek and hop from rock to rock. And he was there when I slipped and fell to help me back up again. I fired my first piece of pottery under his watchful eye. He taught me to hike in the dark with a smile on my face. I remember hiking down a dry creek bed during a staff training in early September under the unrelenting desert sun. We had hiked all day and just wanted to find water. Finally Shayne stopped underneath the shade of a large cottonwood tree and told us to find a comfortable rock. We weren't sure what to expect. But we all trusted Shayne and each found a rock to lean against. With his ever present smile, Shayne told us that now was the best time of day to take a nap! I thought for sure he was kidding. Shayne NEVER slept. He was the guy with boundless energy. But sure enough, he laid down and closed his eyes and fell promptly asleep. We all did the same. A short while later, Shayne woke us up by singing. With a grin, he told us nap time was over and we needed to get moving. Shayne had this ability to make most every moment a teaching moment. He saw the world as this living breathing phenomenon just waiting to be explored and discovered. He invited me to see the world the same. But what I appreciated most about Shayne is he helped me believe the impossible about myself and consequently those I walked the trail with.
  ~ Sandra Priedeman ~