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Emily
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Tell me about yourself
I'm a junior studying Sociology and Human Development with a minor in Women's studies, and I was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. I am extroverted , compassionate, outgoing, funny, I'm a Christian, and I'm an RA for Hill Hall for the 2nd year in a row. I love being a 'big sister'.
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Have you ever attended an ORP event or rented gear from ORP?
I rented sleeping bag for the Camp Casey retreat with my dorm hall. Sophomore year I tried to go on the Oregon Coast trip but I wasn't picked, and to be honest I was upset that I couldn't go.
When you hear the word “outdoorsy” what do you picture?
It’s the ‘I like to walk barefoot people’, Patagonia sweaters, tea in the morning, Birkenstocks, Tevas, chacos wearing people. And most of these people are…white people…yeah, I’ll say it. I think there's a socialized norm of the word ‘outdoorsy’. My personal take is me with my family, campfires in our back yard fire pit, Africa trips where we are always in nature. Being outdoors is cultural and part of my essence. Africans are so spiritually connected to the Earth. They care for the earth. They don’t do things to the earth that people in America are doing to it.
What’s your first or favorite memory of being in the outdoor?
Trips that dad would take us on. We would go to places like, Yellowstone National park. My mom and dad are both from Kenya, and my dad always pushed us to do something outdoors.
What’s your favorite thing to do outside?
I like to be in spaces ‘where I can take it all in’. I went boating this summer and being out in the water and seeing the canyon, seeing God’s creation, it left me in awe.
What culture, ethnicity, or community do you identify with?
America doesn’t really have culture. I think of African Americans as two cultures in one. American people and African people. It’s potlucks and bbqs roasting goats with your homies. I am African, specifically Kenyan. I'm also Gen Z, and from a blended community. My community is people who understand what it’s like to be a black African American in America and sympathize with that experience. It's people of the motherland, people who understand my culture, who get why I have box braids, and people who love my melanin! It’s not just people who look like me, it’s people who ‘get’ me and have a connection with me.
How does your culture or community interact with the outdoors or nature?
My community has had such a hard time rooting themselves in nature because they don’t feel the roots, like in Africa. In America the land has been taken from us. Americans still need to learn how to appreciate the earth. Kenyans, or really all Africans are ‘outdoorsy’. Their houses are centered around nature. My grandpa’s house is rectangular and the center of the house is outside. Everything they use and cook with is from the earth. They walk everywhere and appreciate the earth. Kenya is also known for ‘Masai Mara’ which is the national nature reserve.
Do you feel represented in the outdoor community?
No!
What do you think ORP can do to help you feel more represented in the outdoor community?
It would be amazing to have retreats for black people to find out who they are in regard to being connected to the earth. It’s hard because so many black people are turned off by nature though because nobody wants to mess up their hair. Africans are connected to the earth and not enough black people are connected to that.
Do you think you are an “outdoorsy person”?
Yes. I don’t even know if I want to say I’m ‘outdoorsy’ because I don’t think that word captures the essence of it. There needs to be a better word for it.