/ Cathy's Messages / Reaching New Heights

Target Iditarod Teacher on the Trail^™ Reaching New Heights

by Cathy Walters

Team building. That's what I always assumed was the intention of school and community groups going to "high ropes courses." In my mind it was taking a group of incoming freshmen, for example, and, through this shared experience, helping them get to know their fellow classmates. It seemed like a great idea, but I didn't have a clue what the actual experience was like until I met Scott Frickson at Fort Richardson Army Base in Anchorage, Alaska.

Scott is an officer in the Alaska National Guard having served two tours of duty in Iraq as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot. He is currently on an equally challenging mission working with the Stay on Track program. This mission or program is two-fold; first and foremost, Scott educates young people in the community and schools to make the kind of choices that lead to a healthy lifestyle free of alcohol and drugs. The second part of his mission is operating the rope challenge course. It provides a great opportunity for young people to learn outdoor skills, individual and collective team building skills, and leadership training. Scott uses this course to help kids realize that they can do what seems physically impossible. He then segues this experience empowering teenagers to make the tough social/emotional decisions they face each day concerning the use of alcohol and drugs.

To make sure the four educators representing the Iditarod Summer Camp for Teachers (of which I was one) had a full understanding of the Stay on Track program, Scott not only gave us an energetic presentation and allowed us to watch a group on the ropes course, but he actually had us participate! The four of us learned first-hand that the ropes course is about team building and a whole lot more. We learned to be confident in our equipment, in our teammates, and in ourselves. We learned to take risks, to attempt things we had never tried before, and to succeed. We were indeed empowered! And it was so much fun!

Together the Alaska National Guard and the Iditarod Education Department will be working on several projects during the 2008-2009 school year. Log in to learn more about the projects that will help students in Alaska and around the world move down the trail to success. As Scott Frickson showed us, learning to accomplish things you had previously thought impossible is an important step in gaining control of your life.