Adventure Ed teacher Jennifer Vidal recalls her parents pointing somewhere on a map. Always leading to travels, the points were either a bust or a gem. That was just the risk of it. They would explore Colorado, a “casual” and “lazy” summer wasted away in a tent or canoe compared to sitting in air conditioning. Now, as an adult, her safety and comfort comes from risking adventure.

     With both parents as educators, she followed their footsteps. Teaching took her from the coast of California, Las Vegas, and straight back to Colorado. Every new location added to her passion for exploring and discovering new places. She initially started teaching Art and Physical Education for twelve years, but every second of free time was spent outdoors and experiencing new sites.

     “My motivation wasn’t really going out and  making art during my free time, it was going out to adventure,” she said.  “On my free time I was outside. That’s what I really wanted to do.”

     Along with her group of friends, Vidal would constantly explore outside of the classroom. To do this effectively and safely, education was vital. This proved the need for many courses to insure all possible safety concerns. These included a wilderness first aid class, a GPS orienteering class, and even a ropes rescue class.

     “I was taking all these classes and I realized, why don’t I just teach them?” she said.

     The next natural step was clear. Although expressing and teaching art was never a chore, it was also never a hobby outside of class. Vidal believes that being an educator is an experience for growing, not only teaching. Her close friend, former Adventure Ed teacher Bethany Gleason was just moving on from an adventure education job, opening up the window for herself. She understood the vision for the program, hoping to even further advance it.

     “Being an educator is such a gift,” she said.  “The gift is that you don’t have to do the same thing forever.”

     This moral was rooted from home. Her parents lived by changing things up every seven years, an opinion that was more than important in educating. Vidal stated that it saved them from becoming stagnant, their work never failing or becoming repetitive. It opened her up to safe exploration, the only thing she wishes to teach her students now in adventure classes.

     “[I want them] to be able to safely adventure, whatever that means to them,” she said.

     To Vidal, safely adventuring is completely self defined. If this is going on a walk, joining the armed forces, or climbing a fourteener, she wants them to have confidence in their skills. By her words, it takes a special teacher to draw out and connect with a student’s abilities. All she hopes for is the path to be taken effectively.

     “I want them to be lifelong outdoor adventurers,” she said.