JACKSON, Wyo. — Central Wyoming College is now offering a new Bachelors of Applied Science in Organizational Management & Leadership with an Outdoor Program Leadership Option.
The new four-year degree option at CWC takes advantage of the school’s unique location and educational partners to combine outdoor skills with business management courses.
CWC teaches students to not just lead outdoor trips but also lead teams who operate outdoor programs. They are preparing students to be outstanding leaders not just in the wilderness or on the trail, but also in business environments.
You can think of the program in 2 stages, with the first stage being outdoor skill development for recreation and tourism trip leaders and the second stage being business and leadership courses to manage the programs that hire those trip leaders in the first stage.
CWC now has a 12-year history of developing successful outdoor leaders who’ve gone on to work as tour guides, park rangers, wilderness instructors, mountain guides, hunting and fishing guides…alums work all over the world in parks, recreation, and tourism. CWC Professor of Outdoor Education & Recreation, Darran Wells, says of the new BAS degree: “This new program will leverage those relationships and further train students to not just lead trips but create and lead organizations.”
The state of Wyoming is looking to the outdoor recreation tourism sector to rebuild Wyoming’s economy and at CWC are uniquely positioned to help with that. CWC has a one-of-a-kind facility at the Alpine Science Institute in Lander which offers easy access to rock climbing, fly fishing, mountain biking, hiking, and whitewater boating. “We have the best faculty and staff in the state to train students on both the recreation tourism and the business side. We feel very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to help with Wyoming’s next economic development boom,” said Wells.
For more information on CWC’s new BAS in Outdoor Program Leadership, visit https://www.cwc.edu/jackson.
