Wilderness training

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The instructor for the wilderness first-responder class at Lee University said it is perfectly located geographically.

“We are in the cradle of the wilderness here,” Mr. Vance said, referring to the mountains and rivers of Southeast Tennessee, North Georgia and North Carolina.

The course trains rescuers in back-country emergencies where help may be an hour or more away. In addition to first aid and CPR, students in the 13-week course learn rope and rescue training, survival techniques, how to move an injured person and how to protect themselves and their patients from wild animal attacks, among other things.

Student Lisa Gjerde, a senior from Georgia, said the class will fit into her plans for skiing in Norway and mountain climbing in Nepal after she graduates.

“I spent a year in Norway in a wilderness school, and this just adds to my abilities and experiences,” Ms. Gjerde said.

Mr. Vance said a similar class was offered when he was a Lee student, but it was canceled before he could sign up. He took wilderness first-responder training at college in Virginia and trained to teach the course. This is the second year for the course at Lee.

He said the students come from varying majors, from religion to physical education.

“Every day we spend an hour doing scenarios or wilderness accidents,” Mr. Vance said. “I enjoy watching the students get thrown completely into a new situation and having to push themselves and collaborate to get through it.

“However, as the semester goes on, I have to get more and more creative as I see them work together more and gain confidence as if it were second nature for them to be there,” he said. “That’s my favorite part about experiential learning; I get to actually see them perform.”

Student Frank Hinkson, a senior in physical education, said the class will help with his major and his future career.

Born in Jamaica, Frank Hinkson is a senior physical education major at Lee. He said the class fits into his education plan.

Mr. Vance said about half his students become first-responders on the Ocoee River.

“I have had students become nursing students, EMTs, and switch their majors to sports medicine,” he said.

Students Robert Kelley and Tyler Fox are pursuing forestry ranger and rescue careers, he said.

Dr. Bill Estes, chairman of Lee’s department of Health, Exercise Science and Secondary Education, helped Mr. Vance get the class approved.

“There are numerous benefits to our students beyond the class,” Dr. Estes said. “They become certified as a (wilderness first-responder) and carry with them lifetime skills, which we have already seen used in a variety of settings.”