It may seem unusual that a product of the Manhattan urban jungle will lead the freshman trips for the Dartmouth Outing Club this fall.
"Oxymoronic" is how Heather Halstead, '96, described it. But it was freshman trips that got Halstead, this year's coordinator, started in the DOC. Their all-inclusive nature and sense of community is what appealed to her.
"Freshmen trips are not skill exclusive," she said. "It's everyone, from all backgrounds, pulling together. It's inspiring every year I do it."
Halstead has been active in the DOC since her freshman year, co-chairing the Mountaineering Club for three terms, serving as summer president last year and consistently working on Cabin and Trail as well as Women in the Wilderness.
"The DOC is the best," she said. "If you're going to live in New Hampshire, which I think is the most astonishingly beautiful place I've ever seen, you should get out and see it."
During the trips preparation process, Halstead's goals have been geared toward getting more leaders with real wilderness experience.
"The trips have never had a leadership training program before, only a one-day thing right before they left," she said. "That limited the selection of leaders to people with a lot of outdoor experience, which limited the trips."
To remedy this, Halstead got a committee together of students and administrators and "from scratch" started the training.
"I think it will lead to a much broader range of leaders and consequently better trips," Halstead said. "It has also created a sense of community among the leaders. They know each other and have a better ethic, and they're more confident."
Halstead has also worked with the International Student Office, attempting to make trips accessible and appealing to students from countries outside the United States.
She said the main problem she sees with the trips is demographic, with less urban students signing up.
"I want as many people as possible to come, and to give them the best experience they can have, taking into account different needs and backgrounds," she said.
All of this is not easy, of course. The DOC is a student-run organization, particularly as far as trips go. With independence, comes responsibility.
"Personally, I do everything from answering phones and stuffing envelopes to designing leadership programs and working with administrators," Halstead said.
The job is full-time in the summer -- over 50 hours a week at times, and while Halstead gets paid for this work, she has worked on the mammoth project voluntarily since being chosen as leader Winter term.
This year, more than 95 percent of incoming freshmen have already signed up. They will be led by 150 upperclassmen, chosen from a pool of 350 applicants.
Last year, Halstead headed the Hanover Crew, whose job it is to take over coordinating once trips actually begin.
"By the time picking a trips director comes around, there's usually only one or two people qualified to do it," she said. "It's more handed-down each year than applied for."
