National Outdoor Leadership School Grads Competing in Olympics

Several graduates of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), a premiere international wilderness education and leadership school based in Lander, Wyoming, are representing Team U.S.A. at this year’s Winter Olympics.

Holly Brooks, a 2004 graduate of the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS (WMI), competed on Monday in the women’s 10-km free cross-country event. Brooks placed 42nd out of 78 competitors -not bad for a first-time Olympian.

Casey Puckett, also a 2004 graduate of WMI, will be competing in the men’s ski-cross event on the morning of February 21. Puckett is a five-time Olympian who first competed eighteen years ago as a downhill skier.

Noel Cockney, a graduate of NOLS Yukon and a member of the First Nations from Inuvik, Northwest Territories, is showcasing his talents at the Inuit Games. When asked what he was most looking forward to about the Olympics, Cockney responded, “I cannot wait to show the world Inuit Culture; our games, they way our ancestors lived, and what kind of people we are.”

Wyoming native and former NOLS instructor Sarah Konrad is also in Vancouver representing the athletes on Team U.S.A. Konrad herself is a former Olympian – she was dubbed “an inspiration” by the Master Cross Country Ski Journal when she competed as a biathlete in the 2006 Olympic Team at the age of 38.

Oddly enough, these athletes may even get a ride from NOLS instructor Amy Rathke, a NOLS instructor who is helping transport Olympians to and from their events. All in all, NOLS is proud to be at the games in force.