Students Can't Afford to Miss This Adventure

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 23, 2015) — The Johnson Center is an integral part of the University of Kentucky campus. With thousands of students visiting every year, it’s easy to see why the staff is so student oriented. They even put this ideal over making money.

Few exemplify this ideal more than Mark Lattin, director of club sports and outdoor pursuits. He believes the adventure trips that the Johnson Center produces every semester have a positive impact on students, and not just because of the low cost.

Adventure Trips are exactly what they sound like. UK students pay and sign up to do amazing outdoorsy things with other students. This semester there are currently eight trips planned, and Lattin points out that students don’t have to be an extreme "outdoors" person or athletic to enjoy the trips. These are experiences that just about anyone can enjoy.

The trips range from a tour of the caves at Mammoth Cave National Park to a three-day mountain backpacking trip in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia; from a mindfulness hike to adventure racing in the Red River Gorge; and from white water rafting in Georgia to bouldering in Tennessee. The point of these trips is to build camaraderie with other students, to gain confidence, and to meet new friends.

And did we mention how reasonably priced the trips are? The most expensive is the white water rafting trip at $160 per person. Other trips average about $50. Visit http://www.uky.edu/campusrec/outdoor-pursuits/adventure-trips for details. And don’t forget to check the schedule for the spring semester events.

“We try to do something different each semester that we haven't done before or at least not for a long while,” Lattin said.

The Johnson Center also schedules a trip over Spring Break for those who have been there, done that in Panama City.

“We plan these amazing trips that might not be feasible for a college student to both plan and afford,” he said. "Generally speaking, our program operates on a break-even basis, so students are paying what it costs us for them to go. We're not making a profit at all."

So, if you want to be a part of what could be one of your most memorable college experiences, visit the Johnson Center to sign up for a trip. But hurry, spaces fill quickly.

MEDIA CONTACT: Gail Hairston, 859-257-3302, gail.hairston@uky.edu