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Around the World with ORPies!
What do you picture when you hear the word, "outdoorsy"? Is it a healthy white person taking a hike in the mountains sporting their new NorthFace jacket? Or is it maybe a person in Africa gardening for next week's dinner?
Our SPU community is made up of ORPies from all around the globe with a plethora of ethnicities, cultures, communities, and backgrounds. The "outdoorsy" narrative has been very rigid in who and what kind of people this applies to. The ORP team wants to break that wall down and it starts with our fellow ORPies' stories.
Take a look into the lives of fellow ORPies and hear about their diverse experiences in the outdoors!
Meet Key
Key (she/her), a 4th year studying Exercise Science, the president of The Black Student Union (BSU), shares her passions for fishing and hiking.
She identifies as African American and shares that it is in her ancestry to be connected to the earth. "Slavery forced our people to be outside. And also, Africans are resourceful; they look toward the earth to take care of them."
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When asked what the word "outdoorsy" means Key shares, "It really just means how are people connecting to the earth, showing gratitude and appreciation to the earth."
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Meet Aseda
Aseda (she/her) a 4th year studying music composition, Resident Advisor of Emerson Hall, and member of Ante Up shares about her love for taking walks by the water and her desire to get more involved in outdoor recreation activities.
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She identifies as Ghanaian-American and shares that in her culture much of their life is based on walking outside, growing vegetables, and fishing.
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When asked how SPU can help her feel more represented in the outdoor community, Aseda says, "outdoor gear can get expensive, and therefore, not a lot of the BIPOC individuals have a ton of access to that unfortunately, so it's good that ORP is cheap."
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Meet Lhakpa
Lhakpa (he/him) a senior studying global development and accounting, former ORP coordinator, and international student shares about his love for camping with friends.
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He identifies with the Sherpa culture and shares about how living off the land has taught him to appreciate his connection to the outdoors.
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When asked what his favorite memory of being in the outdoors was, he shared, "It would be my time in Alaska. I had no place to live in the States so I did a trekking program in Alaska. It was thirty days in the wilderness with two old dudes and some yaks."
Meet Emily
Meet Emily (she/her), a junior studying Sociology and Human Development, and Resident Advisor for Hill Hall, who loves the outdoors where she can take it all in.
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She identifies as African, specifically Kenyan, and American. She shares about how cross cultures have shaped her views of her community.
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When asked how ORP can help her feel more represented in the outdoor community, she says, "It would be amazing to have retreats for black people to find out who they are in regard to being connected to the earth."
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Meet Julia
Meet Julia (she/her) a junior studying Exercise Science from Lynwood, Washington.
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She identifies as Asian-American, specifically Japanese although her parents grew up in Brazil and has been raised with both cultures.
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When asked if she feels represented in the outdoor community, she shares, "I feel like the Asian community is not represented in 'outdoor' ads or campaigns. This could be due to the lack of Asians that look like me that are interested in the outdoors."
Meet Nick
Meet Nick (he/him) a junior studying mechanical engineering and RA for Ashton Hall who loves just being in the ocean, spearfishing, or free diving.
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He identifies as Native Hawaiian and shares how living off the land has allowed him to take ownership of his Native identity.
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Nick shares that an "outdoorsy person" is, "someone who is in tune with nature or comfortable in nature. If I take care of it, it takes care of me, but that’s what I think from just living off of the land. Nature is sort of part of the family and we’re obligated to take care of it; it’s part of the community."
