10.21.05

Sarah Hope

"Onward and Upward" gets Erskine students moving

"Onward And Upward" (OAU) is one of the most active clubs on the Erskine College campus. Founded five years ago, OAU is "a service organization that seeks to provide Christian fellowship through nature — through God's grandeur," according to club officer Drew Carlisle, a junior from Essex Junction, Vt., who handles gear and publicity.

"OAU offers an average of two trips each month," Carlisle said. An annual whitewater rafting trip co-sponsored with SCA, "Lake Day" co-sponsored with the Euphemian men, hiking expeditions, caving adventures, beach trips, backpacking, hiking, retreats, a campout on the Erskine Mall, and even an Erskine slip-and-slide day, have been part of the organization's activities, he said.

Carlisle noted that OAU had a hand in designing Erskine's climbing wall in the lower level of the Galloway Physical Activities Center.

Organization founders Matthew Hendrix '01 and Eli Long '02 helped set the stage for OAU's growth. Hendrix served as founding president.

"The vision for OAU was really Matthew's," Reiggin Hilderbrand '01 said. "Matthew also authored the charter and went through the very lengthy process of having the charter passed through SGA."

John Lucas '03 followed up on the work of Hendrix and Long, and served as president.

"John was really concerned with the lack of interest in leadership his senior year," OAU President Bethany Roach recalled.

Roach, a senior from Gastonia, N.C., said, "There were two seniors and one junior at that time who were involved and really knowledgeable about the outdoor safety and technical issues that are important on the trips."

But Lucas was looking toward the future, and in a college club, freshmen are the future. So, Roach said, Lucas and Laura Lee Stuart '04 encouraged her involvement with the club during her freshman year, urged her to attend OAU planning meetings, and asked her to take a training course.

Funds had to be raised to pay for Roach's training. "OAU had made a contact with American Family Day, a company that 'hires' non-profit groups to do the leg work for their carnivals for company picnics and such," Roach explained. "We worked one of these and raised enough money to pay the tuition for the short summer trip."

During the summer after her freshman year, Roach traveled to Mount Rainier National Park and took a 10-day "Trip Leader" course sponsored by the National Outdoor Leadership Schools (NOLS).

"I learned how to plan, recruit for, lead, and follow up backpacking trips for various groups of people," she said.

"We learned how to ration meals, care for gear, read maps, do basic first aid in the wilderness, deal with safety issues such as river crossings, storms, fires, lost participants, etc."

Roach said she and the other course participants took turns being leaders in the group. "At the end we did a solo hike where we took time to process all we had learned."

When she returned to Erskine, she got together with other OAU members who had served on summer camp staffs or done a lot of backpacking. "I compared what I had learned with what they knew from experience, and we all started passing on our knowledge."

With plenty of practical knowledge and a core group of enthusiastic leaders, OAU is now a well-established presence on the Erskine campus, drawing the interest and participation of many students.

"All the OAU trips are open to the entire student body," Carlisle said. "You can count on OAU to be doing something exciting on the weekend."

Roach said OAU has raised money for Relay for Life and other organizations by camping on the Erskine Mall for a week in the spring. The group's main focus is on outdoor activities, however.

"I think OAU gives people a chance to do things that they wouldn’t normally be able to do on their own, whether it be because of lack of gear, lack of knowledge, or lack of people to do it with," Roach said.

"My main focus is on teaching the skills and instilling the love so that people can do these types of things without OAU," she added. "I hope before I graduate to instill this same vision into our younger officers."

Reflecting on her OAU experience as she prepares to hand the reins to a new president, Roach spoke about friendship.

"I like getting to know students in an off-campus setting," she said. "Everyone seems to let down their guard a little when they’re out of their element, and in this setting I have made some of the best friends I have ever had."

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