Joli Nay (left) and student Bella Manuel hike the Church Fork trail in Mill Creek Canyon.
Salt Lake Community College instructor Joli Nay hikes with
students for eight weeks each summer. Dream job. Right? Looking at Nay at a
trailhead on a summer’s day – t-shirt, sunglasses, shorts – you think, ‘Really?
This gig pays money?’ It’s true. “It’s just fun,” she smiles. “I get paid to
hike.”
Nay actually teaches several courses within the Exercise
Science Department at SLCC. Skills? Bunches. She holds bachelor’s and master’s
degrees in education, a master’s degree in exercise science, a bachelor’s
degree in combined psychology, Spanish and communications and even a Fit Tech degree
from SLCC. That’s a lot of academia. But hiking, worth one required credit
within SLCC’s Lifelong Wellness program, gets her out of the classroom and into
the woods.
There are no prerequisites. All skill levels are welcome. Hike
at your own pace – you just have to go with at least one other person. “This is
one of the few classes at SLCC where I encourage people to bring others,” says
Nay.
Student Brielle Bowyer (left) and her mother Kelly Bowyer head toward Grandeur Peak.
The first to arrive at the Grandeur Peak hike in Millcreek
Canyon are the Bowyer ladies, Brielle, 26, and her energetic mother Kelly, 58.
At least since her daughter was born, Kelly gets up every morning at 3:30 a.m.
to exercise before going to work for 10 hours as an office manager for a
doctor. Why invite Mom? “Because she’s my best buddy,” Brielle says. “And she’s
my hiking buddy.” They hike at least once a week during the summer anyway. “I
love hiking so much,” she adds. “I figured, I’m going to be hiking anyway, I
might as well get credit for it.” Brielle, a surgical tech who took a break
from education to earn money for college, is back on track as a pre-med student
at SLCC toward becoming a doctor.
The Bowyers, early to class, take off first from the Church
Fork trailhead near a gushing waterfall as the teacher waits for the rest of
the group to arrive. McKay Nielsen and Maddy Heitman – they want to hike faster
than the rest of the group, 11 in all – are the next two to buddy up. Like
everyone else in the class, they’re at least expected to just show up –
attendance is a big part of the grade – and also complete “modules” outside of
class. Homework involves taking pictures while on hikes and writing about the
experiences.
Maddy Heitman (left) and McKay Nielsen buddy up for a hike.
“I get to learn all of these new trails that I’ll do again
in the future with buddies,” says Nielsen, 24, of Farmington. He’s studying
computer science at SLCC and envisions a career in cyber security. He and the
other students are also encouraged to engage in trail maintenance and picking up
trash as well as simply being kind and courteous to other hikers on the trail.
After all, Nay says, they’re representing the college while hiking. She also
talks with students about appreciating all of the enviable outdoor offerings in
Utah.
Heitman, 19, has already traveled overseas quite a bit on
faith-based missions and loves the outdoors, especially in her home state. “I
love hiking, so, it’s an easy class to do over the summer,” she says. Heitman plans
to graduate next spring from SLCC and pursue an undergraduate degree in
sociology, but not before taking a gap year to do more humanitarian work.
A group of Joli Nay's hiking students stop to rest.
Pairs and groups stagger their starts and head up the
mountain, followed by Nay and a few other students, including Bella Manuel and
her one-year-old son, Ryker, on her back. Manuel, 21, of Taylorsville, is one
of five family members, including Mom and Dad, currently going to college – a
sister is headed to SLCC’s Fashion Institute.
Bella Manuel's hike back to the trailhead puts son Ryker in a relaxed state.