Recurring themes in any conversation with WalkAbout alumni over the 25 years of its existence include: wildlife encounters, rain, and being out of comfort zones. Those same people also talk about deep connections with God and others, forming a tight-knit community, learning about themselves, and the desire to do it all again.
“Despite the bears, the bees, and the rain, and taking a wrong turn that added several miles to our hike, I would do it again,” says Sophie Yaunches, GU resident director. “I think that’s a testament to the impact of WalkAbout that makes it worth going back and well worth the adventure.”
WalkAbout is Greenville University’s annual wilderness camping experience that’s required for resident assistants. This eight-day backpacking trip in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee offers students opportunities to reflect on leadership, teamwork, and community “within the beauty and chaos of nature,” according to the WalkAbout mission and objectives. While required for student leaders, all students may attend to receive activity credit or just for fun, which many students do (seven this year). Alumni often return to help lead groups for the trip and faculty join as well.
Kat (Kennedy ’13) Fink participated in and led WalkAbout as a student, employee, and alum. This year, when staff were preparing for the trip and asking for leaders, she jumped at the opportunity to join the trip in the Smoky Mountains, near where she now lives.
“Every year, something impactful happens for me. I’ve made some major life decisions on WalkAbout because of the clarity that comes with spending time with God on the mountain,” Fink says. “When I was a student, I needed the practice of solitude, but as an adult, I need the practice of community.”
A history of connection and community
What makes WalkAbout special may look different for everyone, but the theme of connection and community runs through every story. According to the founder of GU’s WalkAbout, Norm Hall ’87, the core of the trip and what people learn from it hasn’t changed much over 25 years.
“Those of us who participated in it long ago are thrilled there’s still a space that college students can experience true community with each other and get to the foot of the Father; that they can still be a part of the mission of transformative education is pretty special,” Hall says. “I remember about 20 years ago, Michael Ritter ’99 told me it would be a testament to the power of what God is doing with WalkAbout if it continues long after we’re not at Greenville. That would be honoring of God’s use of our breath and efforts.”
Hall, who now serves as president of Simpson University, recounts his discovery of WalkAbout at Azusa Pacific University. He brought the experience to GU and tailored it to the mission of character and service. He still can recite a long list of people who bought into the early days of WalkAbout and made it happen, whether through leading on the trip or through prayer.
He also recounts stories from the 15 trips he went on that make him chuckle, like the possum who got into a student’s backpack overnight and had babies. He recalls surreal experiences, like when a group sat in their shelter in the cold and “pea soup fog” and Katie (O’Neall ’08) Eckeberger started singing “His Eye is on the Sparrow.” “It was haunting and beautiful, and the presence of the Holy Spirit was palpable,” he recalls. “I’ll never forget that.”
Hall adds that he watched students grow in their sense of God’s majesty. He’s most proud of students practicing creation care.
“Park rangers often would ‘catch’ students cleaning up places along the trail littered with trash. What a powerful exercise of caring for God’s creation.”
Running the numbers
Assistant Director of Residence Life Johnny Hinton (pictured, far right), who has been a part of five wilderness WalkAbout trips, estimates it has impacted over 500 people directly over its 25 years and many more people indirectly. He even completed his master’s degree capstone project on that impact, titled, “The Long-Term Implications of Adventure Education: An Assessment of Greenville University’s WalkAbout Program.”
He surveyed 192 WalkAbout alumni and found almost 62% of participants agreed that WalkAbout impacted some type of change in their lives, and 90% report a positive experience on WalkAbout, illustrating the trip’s long-term impact. The study also noted that participants reported growth in areas like spirituality, understanding of self, and understanding of others. Hinton’s interest in the impact of WalkAbout started during his first WalkAbout trip.
“I walked away with some of the deepest relationships I’ve ever gained at GU before, and just felt super connected to the community in a way that wasn’t achieved anywhere else,” Hinton says. “I think there’s lots of pieces to that connection. There’s the vulnerability piece, there’s doing this hard thing together, spending all this time together, doing life afterwards together, all those things made it a really cool experience. After I went the first time, I knew this was something I would be a part of for as long as it exists.”
Hinton and Naomi Brown ’14 also led an urban WalkAbout experience in 2019, from Alton, Illinois, to Webster Groves, Missouri. Hinton says they wanted to offer an alternative to the wilderness Walkabout and hope to bring it back in the future. Brown says the hiking adventure in St. Louis integrated elements of its wilderness counterpart—time for students to meditate, contemplate, build relationships, and step outside of comfort zones as they accomplish daily hiking goals.
Then and now
“I didn’t get what I wanted, but I got what I needed,” says Resident Assistant Curtis Willson, referring to his first ever WalkAbout this year.
He recounted some of the same things as many others from past years: the wildlife experiences (fleas, hornets, bears, spiders), rain, and discomfort—a surprise, since he enjoys the outdoors.
“I learned how to thrive and not just survive in the uncomfortable moments . . . to not quit in the hard moments. I learned you have to take care of each other, you have to work together, you have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable—all things that sound silly, but truly, there’s a lot I’ve learned that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Time to reminisce
Hinton and the GU residence life staff invite all WalkAbout alumni to come to campus for the 25th anniversary celebration on Friday, October 14, 2022, during GU’s Homecoming.
“I am excited to see a lot of WalkAbout alumni at this year’s celebration and hopefully many from years past, sharing stories with students who recently went on WalkAbout,” Hinton says.
The celebration will include refreshments, storytelling around the Burritt fire pit, and 25th anniversary posters for all who attend. Click here to RSVP.
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