Spring Break
Grad student to scale mountain, help others
Profile
Diana Storch
Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: News
Cornish's passion for outdoor education stems from her childhood experiences at Camp Takatoka, a YMCA camp outside Tulsa. During her summers there, Cornish was inspired by the college students who were her camp counselors and who also served as her role models and teachers.
"You learn a lot when you're outdoors," she said. "You learn what you can do and what you can't do and you exceed those limits constantly. I learned a lot about personal strength and perseverance."
Cornish also became a wilderness leader, hiking with urban youth in the Galiuros Mountains of Arizona and with suburban girls in the Boundary Waters of Wisconsin.
"The transformative experience is there regardless of where they come from," she said.
In addition to the reward of being inspired by the kids, Cornish was given an Old Town Discovery canoe by the Wisconsin camp.
She has already sold off her kayak in preparation for her big move, but that canoe is going with her to Washington.
"You learn a lot when you're outdoors," she said. "You learn what you can do and what you can't do and you exceed those limits constantly. I learned a lot about personal strength and perseverance."
Cornish also became a wilderness leader, hiking with urban youth in the Galiuros Mountains of Arizona and with suburban girls in the Boundary Waters of Wisconsin.
"The transformative experience is there regardless of where they come from," she said.
In addition to the reward of being inspired by the kids, Cornish was given an Old Town Discovery canoe by the Wisconsin camp.
She has already sold off her kayak in preparation for her big move, but that canoe is going with her to Washington.
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