HIOBS staff, past and present, share memories and lessons learned in the field
From the archives: Rafe Parker, one of the first HIOBS Program Directors and builder of Outward Bound schools.
In honor of Hurricane Island Outward Bound School’s 60th anniversary, we recently reached out to our staff—both past and present—and asked them to share a memory or story from their time working for HIOBS. We were curious about what their greatest lessons were, what experiences from the field stood out the most, and how working for the school has impacted their lives.
What better way to celebrate this momentous milestone than to share our community’s most cherished memories from their time in the field and beyond? Keep reading to hear their stories and learn what HIOBS has taught some of those who have dedicated countless hours to our students and school over the last six decades. To those in the field!
Charlie Reade
Adventuring beyond the line in the sand
As a longtime HIOBS staff member, it’s hard to put 35 years into a couple of paragraphs! But it all began with my own Outward Bound-style experience. I was born in the Bronx, New York—a city kid longing for the greener side. While I was a student at Unity College, I had the opportunity to take part in a course being offered by George Armstrong through their new Outdoor Education program. It was here that I experienced the impact of something like this firsthand. With my heels dangling off the edge of a 300-foot rappel, I had butterflies in my stomach…nervous, concerned, and far outside of the city and anything I had encountered up until then. Doubting myself, I heard the wonderful, reassuring voice of my instructor saying, “Trust, have faith, we’ve got you! Just lean back.”
At that moment there was a line in the sand, and I knew that whatever I decided to do would change everything. That’s when the fireworks happened. I pushed beyond the doubt and the nerves, and I learned to trust myself and my instructors. I felt on top of the world!
After that experience, all I could think about was how could I bring that same feeling to others. When I learned that George had joined HIOBS as its VP under Peter Willauer, it was obvious that I needed to follow him there. Wanting the opportunity to spend time in the field and also spread the word to others, my HIOBS career would evolve from the field to program director and onward to lead the outreach and recruiting efforts for the school.
Currently, I coordinate many of the school’s scholarships and enjoy long hours on the phone discussing the many benefits of HIOBS—and preparing students for the adventure of a lifetime. My takeaways? We are all better than we know. Live with compassion and encourage others to come to the line in the sand and go beyond. Thank you, HIOBS!
Photo: Charlie connecting with students and sharing the story of HIOBS.
Douglas Goldhirsch
Why Outward Bound is more than just a job
As a child, I wasn’t very tough or resilient, physically or mentally. When I moved into young adulthood, I worked hard to change this character trait, and so when I became an Outward Bound Watch Officer, it was always more than just a job to me. Every time I taught a course I proved to myself that I had made these positive changes, and it brought me great joy to help others with similar personal challenges.
Being accepted into the Outward Bound instructor family has been one of the great privileges of my life, and I feel proud to have earned it. In these days of social media and other distractions, I see it as a challenge to continue and build upon this depth of staff commitment as HIOBS moves into its next chapter of service. However, I have no doubt that we are up for that challenge!
Kim Meyers
The value of working with Outward Bound Professional
Having worked with many Outward Bound Schools, one of the things I have enjoyed most about HIOBS is working large multi-day Outward Bound Professional (OBP) courses. These bring many skilled facilitators together. I enjoy getting to know people with such varied backgrounds. We have a lot of fun together and always find time to share great ideas, initiatives, and insights that help us become better at what we do.
Photos: OBP facilitators on a 2022 course in Atlanta (left) and a 2017 course at the Edith Macy Center in NY (right).
Suzanne Pierce
How a career change in my 20s shaped a lifelong passion
I have held several positions at HIOBS, primarily in the Land Program, over the last 30+ years. I am not sure who I would be if I hadn’t changed my career from banking to outdoor education in my mid 20s. In the banking world, I was taught to follow very rigid rules, but at HIOBS, I learned to make things work and adapt when the first or second plan didn’t make sense. I learned from amazing staff members and colleagues to help students flourish with what they could carry on their back and the bonds they made with other students.
The impact on students from the struggle and achievement of an Outward Bound course is almost addictive. There is something to say about drinking the Kool-Aid…and I guess I have!
Barbara Fiore
Photos and memories from the old Northwoods basecamp
For my reflection, I’d like to share some photos from the 1990s from the Northwoods Base near Greenville, Maine. During that time, HIOBS leased 75 acres near Moosehead Lake. The place was known as both Fitzgerald Farm (locals still call it that) and Mountain View Farm, because it’s on Mountain View Pond. We referred to the base fondly as “The Farm.”
Here are some photos of the farm, the farm gang, and nearby areas. I think old-timers might like to see some photos of the other half of the school!
Greg “Moose” Cronin
Sharing a common purpose and learning together
While the popular topic to speak about would be the transformation of students (and clients), I’d like to focus on staff. Like many of my esteemed colleagues, I have worked in this industry for a long time. And while I have worked many times with HIOBS staff in other capacities, I am very impressed with the way HIOBS senior staff brings along less experienced staff members during pre-program and program training. This attention to detail separates HIOBS from many other experiential programs.
In fact, it is such a part of the program, people are brought in early to gain valuable knowledge about other staff. I not only see growth and development in new staff, but I see the openness in veteran staff to learn from others who come from different backgrounds. This has allowed me to expand my ability to work with others in various situations, because I know the quality of their work. It is a pleasure to interact with such high character individuals who share a common purpose.
Photo: HIOBS staff members participate in a safety training.
Gus Curwen
The benefits of curiosity, challenge, and community
My work with HIOBS represented so many things that I absolutely loved. This includes being on the water on the coast of Maine, working with people, having intentional moments of challenge, and being part of a community that absolutely embraced all of that.
There are too many moments to pick just one, but I remain incredibly proud of my association with the school. The time-tested recipe of: taking a pulling boat, adding 12 students and two instructors, giving them everything they need to stay warm, dry, and fed, and then sending them down the coast for 10, 14, 22, or 28 days. Add a sprinkle of fog, tides, and opportunity, and see what comes out the other end. It was, and is, magical.
Kurt Hahn said it best when he said:
“I regard it as the foremost task of education to ensure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self denial, and above all, compassion.”
This is just as true now as it was many years ago when it was written.
Photo: Taken towards the end of a 28-day Downeast Course in 1995. L-R: Chris Rowley, Rebecca McNeice, Gus Curwen, and Polly Brooks. In the background is Matinicus Rock.
Naman Sharma
What experiential learning has taught me
There is always a sense of fulfillment seeing students overcome challenges and build self-confidence. Working at HIOBS has allowed me to foster leadership skills, progress my outdoor, teaching, and facilitation skills, along with a new-found passion for experiential learning. I am amazed with OB programming & philosophies, and I believe it’s not a journey but a lifestyle where we learn by doing things, by active participation and reflection. One of my greatest lessons from working here is to not suffer in silence—articulate your thoughts when they occur, don’t hold back. Feedback is a gift which must be shared appropriately and timely.
My favorite moments on expedition are the combination of an early morning wake up, ambitious paddling, and the majestic clouds. Hopefully, I will get another opportunity to paddle and maybe take some photos/videos in such picturesque surroundings soon! But there’s something to be said about the many conversations we have with our students on/after course that resonate the most.
Photo: Naman with his Clark Sports students last summer.
Those opportunities for us to receive varying levels of feedback, analysis, and ideas about what we did well and what we could have done better as a crew are invaluable. It’s these student experiences and staff insights that I believe are some of our greatest assets. Using this knowledge to frame, tweak, and redesign our courses offers us the opportunity to not only get better at what we do but continue to support today’s students as they navigate a rapidly changing environment.
