Humility 101, the "Cleansing Breath" of Walkabout 2016 Commences

Published: April 13, 2021

Tuesday, July 26, marked the start of WalkAbout 2016 for nearly 50 members of our college community. Thirty-five students and 14 others including faculty and staff embarked on the adventure that traditionally launches the new school year for student-leaders at Greenville College.

Their destination is Smoky Mountain National Park.

Students spend eight days in what we call the backcountry without cell phones and technology, explained Erika Spring 11, GCs director of leadership development and associate chaplain. They are split up into groups of five peers and two leaders. They hike anywhere from 34 to 50 miles.

The hikers engage in teamwork and community. They also spend two days in solitude, fasting, praying and, in Erikas words, practicing listening to God.

With traces of everyday hustle removed, many hikers find room for reflections and insights that would not have come to them otherwise. They experience the profound influence of the wilderness, described by legendary wilderness advocate, GC alumnus Howard Zahniser 28:

[T]o know the wilderness is to know a profound humility, to recognize ones littleness, to sense dependence and interdependence, indebtedness and responsibility. (The Need for Wilderness Areas, The Living Wilderness, winter-spring, 1956-1957, no. 59).

Immersion in the wilderness experience, however, is also immersion in challenge.

Intentionally taking students out of their comfort zones challenges them in ways that the classroom cannot, says Erika. They learn to rely on each other, lead through serving, and practice vulnerability that leads to true community.

Organizers and participants in WalkAbout 2016 thank alumni and friends of the College for funding the experience, including gear that requires replacement from time to time. WalkAbout costs about $13,000 each year, explains Erika.

The hikers will return to campus Friday, August 5.

(Photos from Walkabout 2015, courtesy Charlie Herrick '17)

Learn more:

Alive and Thriving, GCs Unique Wilderness Heritage

Wilderness Writings and Adventures

GC Alumnus Snyder Named Conversation Educator of the Year

Keeping the Wild in the Wilderness The Nation Celebrates Zahnisers Work

You can transform students lives through experiences like Walkabout. Give today.