I had the absolute pleasure of sharing a boat with Amanda for the entire month of December. We both came into this trip without much experience rowing through big water, so we were riding this learning curve together from day one. I have worked in the field with Amanda in the past, but I could not say I truly knew her very well. I was excited to finally to hear her story.

Amanda is one of the strongest, competent, mature, and most driven individuals I have ever spent time with. Her strength to face and overcome personal and physical hardship is fueled by her willingness to learn and incredible bravery. Amanda certainly had some anxieties coming into this expedition, but it was motivating for me to witness how she faced them head on, not giving into fear and letting it guide her away from accomplishment. She conquered every rapid with excellent precision followed by hysterical laughter from the both of us. Riding the waves in Lava Falls with Amanda will forever be filed away with some of my most precious memories. It was truly an amazing experience.

She is a natural teacher, always gifting us with her knowledge and stories of experiences in the outdoors. It is only appropriate that her future trajectory involves becoming a NOLS instructor. I honestly cannot imagine any other position that fits Amanda so perfectly. She has a bright future in facilitating addiction to the wilderness and permanently changing the lives for thousands of more students.

What is your definition of adventure?

"Adventure has two parts to it: It is incorporated with wilderness or nature; being out of the city. It also contains elements of discomfort, meaning both physical and more often, mental. So, rock climbing for instance. I am afraid of heights but it creates an adventure for me because I am forced to overcome that mental block. Rafting is another example, it is scary sometimes! Whitewater is new to me and I don’t think I will ever be comfortable in the bigger rapids, and I do not want to be. At that point, it is not so much of an adventure. I want to be nervous and I want it to scare me a little bit because that’s what nature is. It’s this big, strong, scary force and we aren’t necessarily overcoming it. We are melding with it, learning how we can get along."

What does adventure mean to you? What does it mean to be adventurous?

"Getting outside and trying new things. Rock climbing was super scary for me and now… it is still scary, but in a different way! Rafting is very new to me and I was not anticipating rowing on this trip, but it was going to be an adventure no matter what, so why not row my own boat? All in all, getting outside and trying new things is what adventure means to me. Things that perhaps I’m not good at."