What do they do with all of those skills?
This “Leadership Series” has finally completed answering this question for seven Leadership alumni as we anticipated the coming of our current Leadership Semester course students who arrived on April 1st. This week we profiled a second Alex, the last of our seven profiled leaders.
Leadership Alum #7: Alex White
Leadership Course: Fall 2005, the second Leadership Semester course ever
Hometown: No Name, CO – “Yep, it exists.”
Currently: Alex just returned to his 1978 35′ cutter-rigged sloop sailboat home (see photo on right) in San Francisco, CA after guiding a 2nd 21-day river course this year for us. Before that, Alex had returned as a Outward Bound Costa Rica river guide multiple times. However, this isn’t the only kayaking and rafting Alex has done since his Leadership Semester back in 2005. Alex is quite the rafting rockstar. He worked for six months as a guide in Chile’s famous class V Futaleufu River, ran some rivers in Mexico and in the Grand Canyon, and he continues to guide at California’s oldest rafting company, Sea Trek. In addition, he should be receiving his Captain’s License soon, which will be a nice complement to his sloop residence. 
Reasons Enrolled: Back in 2005, Alex’s plan was to blindly scope out some whitewater work on Central America’s most famous and beautiful rivers. His mom allowed him to leave on one condition: that he start by taking this Outward Bound Costa Rica Leadership course for “getting his feet on the ground” in this foreign land.
Future Aspirations: While Alex works with Sea Trek, he is also preparing to complete his paramedics certification through the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. With this certification and his years of experience on class V rivers and in the outdoors, Alex will be marketing himself as one of the few Expedition Medics. All career aspirations aside, he also plans to sail around the world and “touch the stars.”
Favorite Course Moment: There are two. One was Alex’s first kayak trip down the world-famous Río Pacuare on red level. The second was seeing the Lopez family’s faces upon arrival to Piedras Blancas, which is when he realized what a special place he had entered.
Quote: “The only limitation is your imagination.” -Albert Einstein
Click to read about past profiled Leaders:
Leadership Alum #2, Amy Nicolson
Leadership Alum #3, Heidi Ruckriegle
Leadership Alum #4, Donna White
The Outward Bound Costa Rica Leadership Semester is meant to prepare students in such a way that they can use the skills they develop to use in a career and/or any leadership role. This 60-day experience consists of: earning nine internationally-recognized certifications and 12 school credits; learning how to surf, kayak, raft, rappel, camp, and scuba dive; and facing the challenges and responsibilities involved with any Outward Bound course.