The Kids Are All Right?

February 21, 2020

OR_Daily_article-945953-edited.pngWhen NOLS started its Gateway Partners program, which provides scholarships to students from underserved communities, it only had about 30 participants. Now, nine years later, it’s providing scholarships to 188.

Rosemary Saal is one of the success stories. She attended her first NOLS trip in 2012, in British Columnia’s Washington Range. In 2013, she joined NOLS’s Expedition Denali, the first African-American team to seek the summit. 

Today, Saal plans to pursue a career as a guide, an occupation she might have never chosen if not for her scholarship-funded involvement with NOLS, and before that, Passages Northwest Wilderness School, a Seattle organization that runs girls-only outdoor courses. 

Passages gave Saal focus and direction and recommended her for NOLS, where she now plans on working: She completed her 35-day instructor course in Alaska in June. 

Read the full story on page 20 and 21 of the O.R. Daily. 

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Written By

Kim Freitas

Kim is a Wind River Wilderness and Wilderness First Responder graduate who works as the NOLS Writer and PR Specialist. She enjoys vegetarian cooking, warm yoga, and drinking lots of coffee!