Bruce Jacobsen
 In
1975, at age 15, Bruce Jacobsen attended his first NOLS
course, an Adventure
course in the Beartooth Mountains. He was a five foot
three inch, 105 pound high school freshman from Northern
New Jersey, and he was awestruck by the majesty of the
mountains. The experience was so powerful that over the
next six years Bruce attended two more NOLS courses, a
winter mountaineering course and a rock climbing course.
Until recently, Bruce has been employed as the President
and COO of RealNetworks, a company that develops and markets
software products and services.
When asked what he learned at NOLS, he answered, "First,
the need for leadership. Second, leading by example. Third,
a strong sense of teamwork. I've had the pleasure to work
with some leading business people from Bill Gates to Steven
Spielberg and the chance to learn from them. I've been
a manager at companies like Microsoft and served as the
president of a public company. I view elements of my NOLS
education as crucial to my business practices."
Bruce credits NOLS with incredibly affecting his perception
of the wilderness and his interest in environmental issues. "I
do a bunch of work with the Trust for Public Land and tried
to practice my enthusiasm for the environment in the corporate
world, for example working to use recycled packaging at
Microsoft."
Since leaving RealNetworks, Bruce spends time with his
family while also pursuing his strong interest in local
environmental issues. He also heads out to the wilderness
as much as possible and uses the outdoor skills that he
learned at NOLS. "I use all the skills. I try to Leave
No Trace, I route-find using topo maps, and I still tie
my knots 'NOLS style'. Basically, I drive my wife crazy
as I repeat NOLS homilies about this or that".
"I have an incredible appreciation for what NOLS
did for me. Two of the most important parts of my life-
love of wilderness and appreciation for teamwork- come
from NOLS."
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