It is no secret that DePauw University has a diverse range of clubs to join, especially as extracurricular opportunities seem to increase year after year. No doubt, the regular and steady growth of freshman classes helps. These students constantly create organizations where they can show off exactly what they are excited about. One of these particularly interesting groups is the DePauw Adventure Club.
The Adventure Club is led by Karinn Johnson ‘27, an avid outdoor enthusiast. Everything started at the tail end of the previous spring semester, when Johnson met Rowan Hering (‘27) and Lydia Neven (‘27), the organization’s social media director and trip director respectively, through the Rock Climbing Club. Neven wanted to create meaningful outdoor experiences during her four years of college, and Rowan was heavily involved in scouts from eighth grade through highschool. “We all went on a backpacking trip together, and that’s when the dream was truly crystallized,” said Rowan when I asked about how everything started.
This semester, the Adventure Club is attacking the challenge of cohesion and coordination. Their emphasis is on transparency and outreach, as well as being approachable to new students. Arguably, the most important aspect about the club is beginner friendliness. A summer of hard work, dedication, planning, and logistics resulted in a refined goal for this new semester. That goal is to take the club on six trips in accordance with DePauw regulations. Each of these outings come with a month of advance notice and planning, with all expenses paid. There will also be general-body-meeting-adjacent activities like movie nights that are open to all students.
Johnson notes that “even if they don’t absolutely love it, like they don’t find happiness in kayaking or whatever we were doing for the day; at least they had the opportunity to try it and have the option to choose it.”
Fundamentally, the goal of Adventure Club is to get people outside and appreciate the environment around them. The usual academic college life is often littered with additional fees for textbooks and class materials. Inclined students will find themselves in an environment where they can explore these germinating interests free-of-charge. This is an opportunity that is distinctly lacking in academic institutions in the United States. Neven recalls just how much of a barrier asking students to pay was in the club’s initial phases, which is an experience the Adventure Club leadership does not want to repeat.
These endeavors to get people outside are surprisingly far-reaching, and the Adventure Club is still looking to build representation. All of their excursions this semester will be totally unique from each other, as Adventure Club is a big part of the founding members’ identities. They are heavily committed towards making the club run as smoothly, efficiently, and democratically as possible.
Adventure Club also seeks to create a legacy. The trips are designed to have a long-lasting impact on the club’s members.
“Getting people outdoors is kind of the first step to getting them to care about the planet, and the environment,” said Neven. She believes giving people positive memories about experiencing the natural world that they inhabit will make them more inclined to care about it later on in their lives. She notes how it is easy to remain apathetic about the state of the natural world if an opportunity to take a good look at it never presents itself.
The DePauw Adventure Club is fortunate to have an enthusiastic leader and staff board. With such a robust blend of a solid plan and involved leadership, the Adventure Club does not anticipate issues like surprise fees or large event changes. A constant and smooth club experience will keep people interested and involved. This fosters a stable community for future students and provides a model that other clubs can look at. The Adventure Club underscores the value of creating unique opportunities for students to engage with their off-campus environment as it continues to evolve and inspire.