From a Ryan Brady Photo

Paul Van Horn
Assistant Professor of Outdoor Education

Swamped on the Green River (UT).  Note to self:  try to keep the water outside the canoe from now on…

Until I moved to Ashland to accept this position, anything east of Denver, CO classified, in my mind, as “back East”…  You see, I was born, raised, and spent most of my adult life in Colorado, with considerable time spent also in New Mexico and Utah.  These Wisconsin Northwoods existed in my imagination only recently, through the writings of Calvin Rutstrum and Bill Mason.  It took 38 years for me to come see what all the fuss was about!

I grew up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the self-proclaimed “Ski Town U.S.A.”.  Home to many winter Olympians, wonderful hot springs, beautiful mountains, and a high school marching band on skis (including yours truly!), Steamboat and surrounding environs nurtured my love of the outdoors from an early age, when my Dad and I used to go fishing together on the Elk and Yampa Rivers, and grouse hunting in the woods.  Troop 194 of the Boy Scouts, weekends spent downhill skiing on Mt. Werner, and summer camping trips also helped cement the bond with nature.

Fast forward to 1988...  A longtime friend and I are plotting a summer trip to learn outdoor survival skills.  We ended up in Provo Utah, at the start of an outdoor survival course with Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS).  26 days later, 150 miles down the trail, and 20 pounds lighter, I’d found my calling (although it took a few more years to figure that part out), and gotten a jump-start on discovering the true meaning of life.  I continued to return to BOSS, first as an intern, then instructor, and now as a senior instructor.  A bachelor’s degree in Social Studies Teaching from Colorado State University gave me an additional push into the teaching field and I was hooked!

Christmas, 2003.  Cindy, Paul, Erik (left) and Jason (right)

About this time, I met and married my wonderful, beautiful wife Cindy, and embarked on the amazing journey of married, and eventually, family life.  We now have two incredibly energetic young boys (Jason, born in 2002, and Erik, born in 1999).  And of course, our original “children”… our dogs Taylor and Sage (my mountain climbing buddies!).

Since then, I’ve taught high school and college history, 7^th grade special education, experiential education on the Navajo Reservation, outdoor survival at Colorado Mountain College, and plied my trade when and wherever the opportunity presented itself.  A Master’s degree in Adventure Education from Prescott College helped launch me on my present path.

I’m continually (as in daily!) excited, honored, humbled, and just generally thankful for the opportunity to work here at Northland, on the shores of the biggest freshwater lake in the world.  I truly cannot think of another college I’d rather be at.