Meet Thomas Gamsjager, a Northwest Outward Bound School (NWOBS) Instructor with a passion for guiding sea kayaking, backpacking, and rock climbing courses. With three years of experience teaching courses with NWOBS in Mazama, WA and Redmond, Oregon, Thomas has honed his skills in facilitating transformative outdoor experiences. His expertise extends to a range of programs, including the 55-day Outdoor Educator Course, 15 and 22-day backpacking, sea kayaking, and mountaineering courses. Thomas is inspired by nonconventional learning styles and aims to share the knowledge and mentorship he has received throughout his life.
What inspires you to work in outdoor education?
A: I’m inspired to work in outdoor education because I’m drawn to non-conventional learning styles. I had a lot of really cool mentors throughout my life that taught me a lot about being outside and resourceful. I want to share that with people and give them an opportunity to learn and have mentorship in a way that they haven’t perceived before. I had so many amazing opportunities and memories, and I’m inspired to help facilitate that for others.
What do students learn on course?
There are two main categories of skills students learn on any course-technical skills and interpersonal skills. Technical skills are what we emphasize at the beginning of courses so students can operate in the environments we put them in. This includes sleeping warm, stove use, navigation skills, backcountry hygiene, packing a backpack, etc. The interpersonal skills that start to shine once we get people comfortable self regulating are communication and collaboration skills. Decision making is something students get to see the process of their instructors doing, then the whole crew gets handed that responsibility. We ask students to learn about feedback cycles, both giving and receiving and they practice this in inconsequential situations, and as the course goes on we hope we are facilitating a profession of feedback to grow their awareness around how the crew is doing.
What’s the most fun part of course? The most challenging?
The best part is when everyone is really excited about something they did, whether it’s a technical objective or a conversation or a meal they cooked. I think the “Outward Bound magic” is when these students start to thrive in adverse environments. It’s rewarding to see the early efforts pay off in the middle and end of course, where they’re not only doing what needs to be done, but they can do it well and with style! The jump from needing help to autonomy and agency over their crew is really cool. The most challenging aspect is the ever-changing dynamics of Outward Bound; the crew you’re with and the world you are isolated from. While three weeks seems like a long stretch, when you get to day 20 it feels like the blink of an eye. Things just happen and time moves incredibly fast but also slow.
What does creating a safe and inclusive environment for our students look like on course?
As an Instructor, my main focuses around safety are mental/emotional and physical. Ensuring physical safety is done in a variety of ways, by creating boundaries around travel, packing equipment, starting slow and allowing students to get the rhythm of what they’re doing in a wilderness setting. For mental and emotional safety we start every course with a Course Director’s (CD) welcome circle where they describe nonnegotiables and boundaries for all students. It’s the Instructor’s responsibility to not only uphold those boundaries set by the CD, but also to help facilitate the crew in creating group norms. This is done with intentional conversation and lessons throughout the course. Very early on we create a group contract and decide what respectful community living looks like.
What do you think students take away from the course? What do you take away?
What every student takes away is different; it’s a very personal experience. The more bought in you are the more you get out of an experience like Outward Bound. For a lot of people, this looks like getting outside your comfort zone. Everyone will be met with something challenging along the way. It’s my hope as an Instructor that the interpersonal skills that we focus on aren’t just being looked at in terms of ‘this is what I need for course.’ I hope they go home, and when they are faced with adversity, they can engage with the world with a different lens. It’s less important to me to tell you how to use the stove, but the skills we learn through challenge and living in community is what I think can really make a difference in your life, both in the short term and long term, after course has ended.
As far as what I take away, it’s hard to not practice what you preach…I see myself after every course reflecting on where I could have improved or where I excelled. I get out what I’m trying to give to the students in terms of transferable skills. Through this work I have really cool and fun life experiences and meet amazing people while seeing some of the most beautiful places. I get to work with some of the most amazing people and learn from them and their lived experience both as humans and outdoor facilitators.