Owen – Outdoor Adventure

OWEN

Outdoor Adventure

Sparsholt was recommended to me by friends, as well as a colleague at the climbing wall where I was working. Having their own climbing wall was also a big plus!

The people were amazing. It is such a sociable place and I made friends from all different courses. The lecturers really helped me with my dyslexia, the amount of support you get is great. I can still remember my first presentation and being terrified of public speaking. By the end of the course I was more confident speaking to large groups and now my daily job involves presentations all the time and I don’t worry about it at all.

You would struggle to find a better way to spend two years – it was amazing fun and I learnt so much – the level of delivery is fantastic.

From technical skills such as kayaking to communication skills like ice-breaker games, I use the skills I learnt at Sparsholt every day. We also learnt about the legal side of the industry, which is really useful.

Sparsholt helped us get a foot in the door of the industry – I got my first job through my work placement at an outdoor activity centre. I am now an Outdoor Facilitator and Instructor for an educational charity. Based in Mid Wales, I lead residential trips and expeditions for 11-19 year olds all over the country. The freedom to lead a group and plan a trip around them is exciting and the trust they give you is so rewarding. Some of the managers here are also Sparsholt graduates – in fact every place I have ever worked has employed a Sparsholt graduate – they seem to be everywhere! I wouldn’t be where I am now without Sparsholt.