History of the UNC Charlotte Venture Program

The Venture program began more than twenty five years ago in the fall of 1971. It began from a steering committee appointed by the Chancellor to send a pilot group from UNCC through the North Carolina Outward Bound School. Fifteen UNCC students, faculty and staff participated in this program.

The pilot program was a two week wilderness experience sponsored by Outward Bound. During those two weeks the individuals traveled into the Linville Gorge area and the Great Smokies. They learned skills in backpacking, rock climbing, map and compass reading, bushwhacking, first aid and leadership. The pilot program was a success and the Office of Student Affairs developed the Venture program independent of Outward Bound.

Since that time, Venture has continued to grow and expand into a unique experiential learning program. Workshops offered through Venture have included: whitewater kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, spelunking, backpacking, sea kayaking, bicycling, cross country skiing and rafting. Venture also offers a Group Initiative Course and a High Ropes Course. As Venture grew, it became evident that more student leadership was needed to enable us to meet the desire for our programs.

In 1991, we started the Venture Outdoor Leadership Training And Group Experience (VOLTAGE) program, which has become very successful. We now train and hire students to lead programs in all of our activity areas.

As Venture continues to grow, our goal is to not lose sight of where we began. For a number of years, in the spring, Venture offered an extended wilderness experience much like the original pilot program that sparked the Venture Program. The Venture Experience: An Extended Wilderness Trip wasa nine day multi-element trip in May. The purpose of this experience wasto get "back to the basics" of where Venture began. The focus of the trip was similar to that of an Outward Bound course: an opportunity to learn about yourself and others in an outdoor environment which is challenging and fun.