Photos courtesy Steve Kugath
Jared Burke, a former BYU-Idaho student, skis downhill during a winter 2004 Recreation Leadership class. In these classes students are able to learn a variety of different skills and gain an appreciation of what nature has to offer.

Winter Recreation classes help students embrace the snow and enjoy the cold

Ashley Andrus COS03002@BYUI.EDU Special Sections Editor

As students set New Year’s resolutions to workout more, they may consider doing their workout in the great outdoors.

A unique program has become a part of BYU-Idaho history – Recreation Leadership. The objective? To help students learn valuable leadership skills while gaining an appreciation for outdoor recreation.

“There are probably only 20 other universities that offer these types of courses,” said Steve Kugath, of the Recreation Leadership Department.  “It’s part of our history to do this, to take students into the outdoors.   A lot of students look at Rexburg as being cold, but if you look at the cold and see all the opportunities, it becomes exciting. … Let’s embrace the cold weather and make it our friend, not our enemy.”

This semester, Kugath and other faculty members will be instructing students in a variety of courses as they help them develop different skills. Some classes offered are Back Country Skiing, which includes overnight trips; Winter Skills (block class); Outdoor Land/Water/Snow Skills and Winter Camping, as well as others.

Kugath has come to believe heavily in the Confucious saying: “What I hear, I forget, what I see, I remember and what I do, I understand.”

“We definitely believe in experimental education, not just seeing and hearing but by doing,” Kugath said. “If I could just get students into a pair of skis and take them out to the golf course to cross-country ski, they would end up having an amazing experience.”

The program began when Elder David A. Bednar wanted to find a way to train students in leadership. The idea was to help make opportunities available that would enable students to make decisions and apply the lessons they learned to their own individual lives.

“I love to see that excitement and their smiles as [students] make some sort of application,” Kugath said. “I love to see them experience things they never thought they would experience in their lives ... I feel lucky; I enjoy my job and the challenges it presents.”

Kugath encourages students to take the opportunity to try something new and just be willing to experiment with the variety of activities offered by BYU-I.