Quest Outdoor Adventure and Leadership

The most active, outdoor, and adventure-oriented summer camps in the region! A week filled with rafting, kayaking, hiking, rock wall climbing, high ropes, low ropes, zip lines, as well as field games, and crafts!

Quest Adventure Summer Camps Info

                                                   Learn and grow in the outdoors!

Live with a supportive and friendly group of people!

Move in early and make new friends!

Learn to become a leader utilizing outdoor experiential learning!

More About Quest Interest Housing

Check out the following dates for the opportunity to climb and soar on Quests 70ft climbing tower and 2 zip lines!

Zip Lines

• Date: September 13th
• Time: 1pm-5pm
• Location: Upper campus at Bloomsburg University, next to Nelson Field House
• Cost: $10 for commonwealthu students with ID, $20 all others

Climbing Tower

• Date: October 18th
• Time: 1pm-5pm
• Location: Upper campus at Bloomsburg University, next to Nelson Field House
• Cost: $10 for commonwealthu students with ID, $20 all others

Cash or card accepted! Pay at the door.

Check out our brand new 70ft climbing tower! Zip through the woods!

Calling all women! Are you ready to get outside?

We have a program for you!

The Women’s Adventure Program has been created by women, for women!

We are looking for 5-10 women who are interested in taking a step out of their comfort zone and developing leadership skills through adventure!

WAE will take place in the fall 2025 semester and will consist of:

5 weekend adventure trips

3 evening community building sessions

A small group of like-minded women all looking to get outdoors

A whole lot of fun!

The WAE schedule will be:

Sunday, August 31: White Water Rafting

Sunday, September 14: Kayaking

Friday-Saturday September 19-20: Camping and Hiking

Sunday October 5: Rock Climbing

Sunday October 19: High Ropes Course/ Rock Wall

*Evening sessions TBA after sign ups close

Why you should join WAE:

• Exclusive adventure trips with gear, guides, and transportation all included

• Evening sessions for crafting, collaborating and connecting

• Safe and supportive experiences in the outdoors and on adventure trips

• Opportunities to learn skills and expertise needed to lead outdoor trips

• Leadership skill development

• Personal goal development

• New friends!

How to join:

• WAE will cost $250 per person

  • This price covers the cost needed to run exclusive programs with experience guides and all of the gear and transportation included as well as provide fun and informational evening sessions to hang out, play games and create personalized journals which will be covered by WAE

• Spots are limited! You can only reserve a spot by registering

• To sign up: use this link and register by the end of May 2025. 

  Register Here

   

• Once sign ups are closed, the guides will reach out by email with more information so you are prepared to start in the Fall semester.

Meet your guides:

Hi! My name is Liz and I have been a part of QUEST since 2019. I am a grad student at CU and I love hiking and kayaking. I can’t wait to meet you and adventure together!! You can reach me at EJL49275@commonwealthu.edu

Hello! My name is Lily, and I’ll be a senior this fall. I’ve been with QUEST since my freshman year, and it was the best decision I have made. I love climbing and hiking, and I can’t wait to meet everyone! You can reach me at lmk15186@commonwealthu.edu

If you have any questions, feel free to email us to chat and get more info! We would love to have you in our program!!!

Quest offers a variety of adventure programs each semester for CU-Bloomsburg students and Community members. These trips range from whitewater rafting to hiking to sunset kayaking to caving. These adventures are also open to the public for an additional cost.

General Trip Information:

• Trip signups are typically open until the trip is full, unless it's a weekend trip.
• Trip emails go out the Wednesday before the trip.
  • General info is available for each trip at the link below.
  • If you sign up after the email has gone out, or did not receive one, please DM us on Instagram or email the Director.
• Trips might be cancelled due to weather, staffing or interest.
  • In the case of this happening, refunds are issued.

Quest Adventure Programs

In addition to adventure programs, Quest offers team development programming across Commonwealth University and to external organizations and groups.

Quest Team Development and Contracted Programs

Bloom Boulder Bash is a bouldering competition at Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg, held on a 39-foot Entre‐Prizes imprint climbing wall and freeform boulder area inside the Student Recreation Center.

General Information:

• These competitions are help twice a year
  • One is in the fall before Halloween
  • The other in is the spring semester
• There are both Men's and Women's           categories for each of the following:
  • Beginner (v0-2), Intermediate (v3-4), Advanced (v5-6), and Open (v7+)
• Guaranteed to have 70-80 new routes!
• Price of Admission:
  • CU Students: $15 with CU ID
  • Community: $25

Bloomsburg Climbing Fest

Take a leading role around campus and learn fun and engaging skills that allow you to lead your peers into the backcountry on adventures of a lifetime. Join a warm community of people who love to enjoy the outdoors, a community full of fun and exciting adventures and friendships that will last a lifetime. Grow as a leader when guiding groups through our adventure programming and unlock the leading potential inside yourself.

Take advantage of the best job on campus, get paid to take people hiking, kayaking, rafting and so much more!

Working for Quest allows you the flexibility of a work study job without having to give up your current work study job on campus, if you have one, because Quest payroll isn't part of the work study program so you can be paid both by your work study and Quest at the same time!

• Working for the Quest Summer Camps is a truly rewarding experience, with no experience needed!
• Spend your summer days outside with kids aged 8-13! You will experience the joys of taking kids into nature hiking at Ricketts Glen, on the water using our rafts and kayaks for water day, and onto our high ropes adventure course where many fears are faced. You will have the opportunity to grow as a leader, how to work with kids, and to have fun doing it!
• We are looking for individuals who are excited to work with kids that are willing to make the effort to give the campers the best experience we can offer! No experience in the backcountry is necessary as we will have ample time to train the skills needed for high ropes and anything else you need.

Job Expectations Include:

• Must be 18 years of age or older to apply.
• Be on time: like any job, punctuality is important as we use the hour before camps to make a plan and setup to be ready for the campers.
• Having a positive attitude for the kids about weather, being outside, and daily activities will encourage them to follow your lead.
• Be willing to be outside during camp hours (9-5pm) while in the sun or occasionally rain, we enjoy playing in light rain and so do the campers!
• Be ready to be engaged and participating in games with the kids throughout the day on your feet
• Be willing to collaborate with your team and communicate any disagreements, this makes the summer run smooth and overall more fun for everyone.
• Be willing to stick to a plan, but be able to be flexible for when the weather or general timing requires us to change our plans.
• Come to camp everyday prepared! This will always include lunch, water, a towel, and a change of clothes. We make a plan at the beginning of the week, but weather could change those plans so it is important to always be ready for any camp activity.
• Most importantly, have fun with it! The campers are always having fun if you are.

In order to apply for the position of Quest Summer Camp Counselor follow the steps below:

1. Complete the Summer Camp application and email it to nmccormack@commonwealthu.edu.
2. Set up an interview with the Quest Director by emailing nmccormack@commonwealthu.edu
   • It is your responsibility to reach out to the Director to schedule
3. If you are hired you will need to complete the required clearances.

As a student social media coordinator, you will be responsible for developing and implementing Quest's Social Media strategy in order to increase its presence and overall marketing efforts. You will help coordinate the marketing team in terms of scheduling content creations, when they are posted, who is posting them, and holding marketing members accountable for hitting these deadlines.

• Observer — An observer’s role is to attend trips to observe and learn the leadership skills and techniques used by the Instructors and Assistant Instructors running these trips. They also attend staff training sessions to learn as much as possible to further their experience and to become Assistant Instructors.
• Assistant Instructor — An Assistant Instructor is an intermediate step between Observer and Instructor. They will aid Instructors in leading and teaching on trips to work towards Instructors. They will not be responsible for participants without an Instructor or higher level staff present. Their focus will be to work on the intricacies of leading people and the technical skills needed to lead in the outdoors.
• Instructor — An Instructor’s role is to teach others, from new staff to participants on their trips. They teach the skills needed to function and lead in the backcountry and on all other courses. They are leaders in the outdoors and within Quest. They plan and execute all of Quest’s regularly scheduled Outdoor Adventure Programs as well as different training sessions for other staff members.
• Course Coordinator — This is the final step for students after an Instructor. A Course Coordinator assumes total responsibility for every aspect with regards to the paperwork, emergency situations, and logistics for running these courses. Once this level is achieved, they will make all final decisions on course. Course coordinators will embody to the fullest the 10 Quest Leadership Principles and perfectly represent Quest, its missions, goals, and policies. They will also work towards improving the Leadership skills of all other staff members.
• Summer Camp Counselor — As a Summer Camp Counselor, you do not need to have any experience within Quest. All of the training is included. You are responsible for facilitating a set of key activities for campers ages 8-13 during the hours of 9-5. You will also work to develop a well-developed plan to make the days run as smoothly as possible. As you work through your summer, it is possible to obtain an Instructor book and work towards an Assistant Instructor status for a semester position within Quest.
• Summer Camp Manager — The position of Summer Camp Manager is held by someone with adequate experience and skills to make the camps run smoothly. The manager will be responsible for helping camp counselors develop a plan, facilitate key activities, and to help camp counselors grow as facilitators of children. They will also help with the summer camp training while also being available for any other supplemental training sessions that the camp counselors feel as though they need to be successful.
• Team Development Facilitator — Help promote growth among people of varying ages as a Team Development Coordinator. In this role, you will help to facilitate meaningful activities that promote communication, teamwork, and problem solving to teach people a little bit more about what being a team is all about!

Vision Statement

• To teach outdoor skills as a means to promote lifelong fitness, personal challenge, and recreation.
• To empower individuals to move beyond self imposed limitations.
• To teach self-reliance, an independent spirit, an unquenchable curiosity, and above all, compassion for all others and all living things.
• To develop team building, leadership, and effective interaction skills.

Leadership Principles

As a leadership development program these are the principles that define what we think is effective leadership.  All of our programming is meant to educate on and reinforce these principles. Everyone will have strengths and weaknesses within this list.  The goal of the Quest leadership model is to fine tune and expand the strengths and improve the challenge areas specific to each person.

1. Be Passionate
2. Have a Servant Mentality
3. Have a Big Picture Mentality
4. Strive for Sound Judgment and Decision Making
5. Be willing to question and be questioned
6. Inspire Others to Act
7. Have Solid Skills and Be Able to Teach Those Skills
8. Act as a Facilitator of Knowledge
9. Be a Mentor to Others
10. Be a Model of Excellence

Based on ideas and principles from Outward Bound, Quest Staff and Kouzes & Posner (2007)

The International Outward Bound Program, with its emphasis on teamwork, leadership and the development of human potential through challenging outdoor activities, attracted the interest of several BU administrators and faculty in the early 1970’s.

John Walker, as Assistant to the President, Steve Breset, Physical Education faculty, and Louis Mingrone, biology faculty, were instrumental in the mid 1970’s in providing that vital initial impetus that led to the establishment of the Quest Program. Together they attended the Association for Experiential Education Conference where other like minded professionals gathered to discuss the educational opportunities afforded by experiential education. The educational rational and philosophical underpinning of experiential education was embraced by this team. All they had to do now was persuade the college elders, Provost, deans and faculty chairpersons. Undoubtedly, without the continuing support of John Walker – who was able to convince President McCormick of the value of this new idea – the early efforts would most likely have foundered. It was John who came up with the name, Quest. He explained, It seemed to capture those value forming experiences that are beneficial to a student’s life at the University.

Steve Breset headed the program and steered it through 1981 when a full-time director was appointed and the program was given a permanent home in Student Life. The next important character to emerge on the scene of this fledging program was Bill Proudman who took over the reins in 1981 after Steve Breset. He was instrumental in forging a program curriculum that exemplified all the early aspirations of its founders. Bill was the right person at the right time a fortuitous event that allowed the program to grow and have an impact on the University community. Bill and students, presumably without the knowledge of some higher authorities, built office space out of what had formerly been the locker room for the University’s football team on the ground floor of Walter Simon Hall. Bill’s surreptitious creation of the office space is an example and a major point in Secretary Colin Powell’s list of leadership skills of what it sometimes takes to take on a traditional institution and create change; get it done and ask permission later.

Backing up a bit. In 1967 a small liberal arts college (Prescott College) in Arizona integrated the concepts of Outward Bound into an innovative program that replaced the traditional physical education program. The focus of the program was to develop leadership, self reliance and teamwork skills. The program, the first of its kind in the nation, received national attention from Time Magazine, CBS, NBC and ABC, and garnered the support of Dewitt Wallace, owner and founder of Readers Digest, who gave the college a large grant to further develop the program. (The founder of this program, Roy Smith, later became director of the Quest Program). This publicity attracted the attention of colleges and universities from around the country who were in interested in starting a similar program. Bloomsburg University, along with Princeton and Cornell, was one of those schools. In 1973, Roy Smith received a letter from John Walker asking if him if he would share his experiences in running the Prescott program. What is interesting about this historical morsel is that 15 years later, in 1988, Roy Smith, left Colorado and assumed directorship of the Quest Program.

By the time Roy arrived in Bloomsburg, his predecessors, the director and associate director had both moved on to other jobs and it was given to Signe Klinger – who had first participated in a Quest course two years earlier to hand over the keys and acquaint Roy with the program, its history, and the areas around Bloomsburg where courses were conducted. Signe was an invaluable link in a broken chain and was immediately promoted to Associate Director, a position she held until the birth of her first child in 1991.

In 1989, with a $10,000 start up grant from the Bloomsburg University Foundation, Roy Smith created the Corporate Institute as an adjunct to Quest and as a major revenue generating source that became the principal underlying financial support for the Quest Program. This revenue source allowed the Quest Program to improve its equipment inventory, expand its student leadership training capabilities and undertake more ambitious international experiences. The housing of the Quest Program and the Corporate Institute under one roof was a mutually beneficial undertaking. It allowed the Corporate Institute to have immediate access to a wide range of training facilities, and for the Quest program to benefit from increased revenue and a ready access to leadership and team development ideas taking place in the corporate world

The Quest program today has grown considerably in size and in the range of courses, and extended trips abroad, that we now offer not only to students at Bloomsburg University but to an extensive list of clientele from other colleges in the region, and community organizations from around the State. Much of this growth can be attributed to the outstanding work of the associate directors, who over the years, have done sterling work in training staff and coordinating a schedule of contract courses.

• 2021 - Present
  Nick McCormack
• 2015 - 2021
  Brianne Oehmke
• 2009 - 2015
  Brett Simpson
• 1988 - 2009
  Roy Smith
• 1987 - 1988
  Chuck Connelly
• 1981 - 1987
  William Proudman
• 1973 - 1981
  Stephen Breset

• 2001 - 2009
  Brett Simpson
• 1997 - 2001
  Tony Draus
• 1996 - 1997
  Mark Wasakoski
• 1992 - 1996
  Tom Burkiewicz
• 1991 - 1992
  Karen Michaelson
• 1989 - 1991
  Signe Klinger
• 1987 - 1998
  Barbara Lake
• 1986 - 1987
  Heidi Hammel