From Student Outreach Services: We Climbed a Hill …Then We Had Pancakes

A few folks from Student Outreach Services (SOS) and the AS Outdoor Center (OC) met at the Stairs to Nowhere.  We were going on a hike but how we would get there, what we would see, who we would meet, and what else we would experience, we had yet to witness.

SOS and the OC have partnered for quite some time hosting: hiking trips, snowshoeing at Mt. Baker, Team-Building activities, Rafting adventures, and more. The Sehome Hill Arboretum is a great resource devoted to educational, aesthetic, recreational, and research purposes ; and best of all, it’s literally in our back yard! To breathe the cool air, eye to eye with the clouds, and to touch the ferns and mosses along a walk, where conversations may range from personal stories, culture, and communities, to learning the names of trees, and looking for the largest leaf.

Laughter, smiles, music, and magic, are all on course for a walk through the woods. And while it was an opportunity for SOS students from a variety of programs, such as Peer Mentor and Pathfinder, to interact and engage, in all truth, it was really a chance for us all to engage as People, as students, staff/faculty, community, or even jolly elders visiting for family day. At the peak of the hill, all are friends, and all are connected, especially when chocolate-persimmon pancakes made on-the-spot, served with Petits Toasts, mandarin oranges, and sea-salt and apple-cider-vinegar cashews are involved.

If you are interested in learning more about SOS Outdoor Programs, please feel free to contact Patrick.Freeland@wwu.edu or by phone (360) 650-7443, or simply stop on by SOS in Old Main 387, with walk-in hours from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.