ALASKA
PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
http://www.alaskapacific.edu/
June 6, 2000
Dear Doug:
On behalf of the students and faculty of the
Alaska Pacific University May Block course, "Psychotherapeutic Uses
of the Wilderness," I want to thank you for your informative and
positively inspirational guest lecture on May 17, 2000.
After you left, and for the remainder of the
course, students referred back to many of the points you made. I think
what stood out above all else is the can-do attitude that you, as an
athlete with a disability, bring to life. It was very exciting to have
an Olympic Gold Medallist in our class. Your athletic and speaking
skills, positive spirit, and courage served as an inspiration to
everyone in the class, from Theresa who describes herself as a
"formerly sedentary housewife" to Caitlin, who is training for
the next Olympics herself (in Nordic skiing). Another memorable point
was the need for all humans to spend quality time in the out-of-doors.
Are we humans or animals was a thought-provoking question. We also loved
the video-clip that you showed. It demonstrated so powerfully that
wilderness challenge experiences can be therapeutic for a wide range of
people.
When we evaluated the course on the last day,
students suggested that next year we incorporate a volunteer day into
the curriculum. The example they used was spending a day or more at
Challenge Alaska. They also suggested that as a follow-up to this
course, we offer Part II, which would include more extensive
opportunities to work in the wilderness with a variety of populations.
Thank you for being the inspiration for all this, and for being a
top-notch guest speaker.
Yours sincerely,
Ellen Cole, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology
