While some William Jewell College students spent their winter breaks going on vacation or relaxing at home, sophomore nonprofit leadership and psychology major Skylar Seitz – along with several other Jewell students – traded leisure for exhaustion and giant mosquitos. As part of the Pryor Leadership Program, Seitz embarked on a 13-day Outward Bound trip through the Florida Everglades. 

Pryor is a three-year program that identifies students with leadership potential and refines their skills in the classroom before asking them to demonstrate these skills on the trip.

“An effective leader must be prepared for all situations, especially situations that push them out of their comfort zone,” Seitz said. “The Outward Bound trip does exactly that. It forces students to lead in the most unexpected circumstances.”

Seitz and the other Pryor Fellows were challenged with exercising leadership by navigating the Florida Everglades in canoes through mangroves, waves and wind, all without access to modern technology – including indoor plumbing.

“Once you have conquered leading a team to find an island none of you have ever seen through 25 knot winds in the dark with only a few days of navigation and canoeing experience, leading a sales team to meet a quota seems a lot less daunting,” Seitz said.

For Seitz, and average day on the water looked something like this:

6:30 a.m.: Wake up, make eggs or oatmeal with a propane stove, make a navigation plan for the day.

7:30 a.m.: Boarding down, which entailed transferring supplies to other canoes in order to move the boards used for sleeping on top of the canoes back to the bottom of the boat.

8:00 a.m.: Begin navigation, stopping only a few times a day to get bearings and eat lunch.

1:00 a.m.: Reach the destination and put boards back on top of anchored canoes.

1:30 a.m.: Have a discussion on what the next day may entail while making and eating dinner.

2:00 a.m.: Go to sleep.

For Seitz, Outward Bound was a great learning opportunity.

“I can navigate unknown islands on my own with nothing but a compass and a canoe,” Seitz said. “I now know the difference between a red and white mangrove and lots of other fun flora and fauna facts. Most importantly I learned a lot about myself, as I was exposed in a very raw way to aspects of my personality and leadership style.”

Seitz found the most difficult part of her trip to be dealing with cold weather after the sun went down.

“You are constantly splashed or in the water, so your canoeing outfit is often soaked which makes the temperature so much more painful,” Seitz said. “You also have to change back into the same wet outfit in the morning often before the sun comes up which is a painful experience.”

Despite these difficulties, Seitz said the experience was very influential and recommends it to others who want to strengthen their leadership skills or their connection with themselves.

“My most memorable experiences are the fun times I spent laughing with my crew,” Seitz said. “I also saw dolphins everyday – including babies – playing a few feet away from me, which is one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced.”

Over winter break, the William Jewell College Pryor Leadership Program Fellows set out on their Outward Bound trip to the Florida Everglades. They packed their bags, printed their boarding passes and prepared to put their leadership and team bonding skills to the test.

The Pryor Leadership Program is a three-year program that aims to develop leadership skills in individuals through experiences in the classroom and through vocational and volunteer internships. Participating in an Outward Bound trip is an integral part of the Pryor Leadership Program.The trip allows Pryor Fellows to utilize the leadership skills they learned in their first Cornerstone Course, while also demonstrating their strengths and weaknesses in trying conditions. The Fellows are tasked with paddling across the Florida Everglades, including having to navigate through mud and mangrove trees, without access to common technology.

“The trip was amazing. It was a roller coaster of emotions but I wouldn’t change a thing. This is by far one of the most amazing trips I’ve ever taken for both the growth of myself as a person and for all of the amazing sights you get to experience. This trip has given me a newfound love for nature and all it has to offer,” said Carman Stephenson, sophomore elementary education major.  

Will Schneider, sophomore political science major and another Pryor Fellow who went on the trip, agreed that it was a life-changing adventure.

“Overall it was an amazing experience. I was very lucky to have the group I did, we all seemed to bring something different to the table. Everyday there was a challenge and one of us stepped up and was exactly what the group needed to keep us paddling forward,” said Schneider.

“I learned a lot about my personal physical strengths and my mental strengths. Since we were rowing for almost two weeks straight, it took a lot of physical commitment and strength to get our group to where we needed to be each night. Overall, I think I gained a lot of perspective, on what I have to offer the world and then just to cherish certain luxuries at home because it’s not a normal thing to have them,” said Sydney Bass, sophomore English and Spanish major.

All of the Pryor Fellows can agree that throughout the experience, their bodies and emotions were tested as they encountered challenges and obstacles in their path. However, these challenges provided a chance to come up with solutions and to problem solve with one another.

“I grew so much throughout this experience. You are pushed to your limits physically, mentally, and emotionally – which can show you a lot about yourself. I learned that I am definitely capable of more than I thought!” said Stephenson.

Having to change one’s regular routine can be quite an adjustment and presents many difficulties in new places and environments. The Fellows had to find ways to develop resilience to these difficulties throughout the trip.

“It’s sort of like you go through withdrawal – from foods that you’re used to eating, from knowing the time every second of the day, from people that you depend on, and really just from typical life. But after those couple first days it was amazing, because the worries of drama on the internet or the millions of homework assignments sort of dissipate and I was able to really enjoy the pure nature around me and the really cool people I got to meet,” said Bass.

Stephenson agreed that the change of environment was a challenge for her.

“I would say that the most difficult part of the trip was being pushed so far out of my comfort zone. You are thrown into a new environment, with a new group of people, and taught a new set of skills all over the course of two weeks. I never found myself comfortable on this trip which is both the best and the worst part,” said Stephenson.

The sense of accomplishment that each crew received when they reached their final destinations made all of the challenges they experienced worthwhile.

“The most rewarding parts of the trip were seeing a beautiful sunrise and sunset everyday. They were always something that the group would stop whatever we were doing and just watch. Then the final day of paddling we all raced to the end and when we got there the feeling of accomplishment was a very rewarding feeling because of how hard our group had worked,” said Schneider.

Stephenson also agreed that making it to their final destination was, for her,  the most rewarding part of the trip.

“I can easily say that making it to the endpoint was the most rewarding part of the trip and one of the most rewarding moments of my life. Once you make it to the end you are worn out and tired but you can also be so proud of all you and your crew achieved. It was an amazing feeling to accomplish such a difficult task with a group of people that you truly grow to love and rely on,” said Stephenson.

The skills of the Pryor Fellows were tested, but by working together and staying positive they were able to lead their crews through the wetlands of the Everglades.