Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Lawyer -->Wilderness Instructor

"On New year's Day 2010, my two-year old son broke his femur in a skiing accident while we were vacationing in Lander. I spent eight weeks there while he recovered, thinking about life. For a decade, I'd been moving up the law-firm ladder in California and relegating what I really love - climbing - to the weekends. My husband and I decided to just stay in Wyoming, and I started looking for work with an organization whose mission matched my core values. I applied for a n internship with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) as a blogger. Within a few months I was hired as a writer, and this summer I became the diversity-and-inclusion manager and trained to lead wilderness courses. NOLS is flexible with schedules, and we're encouraged to spend nice days skiing, climbing, or running. Some meetings happen on bycycles. I make a fifth of what I made as a lawyer, but I'm at least five times happier. I'm climbing four days a week, and I play with my son outside every day."

-Aparna Rajagopal-Durbin - as told to Michael Roberts
Outside Magazine (September 2011)

Sunday, August 14, 2011