Summit Vision 2011

On Friday, May 6, 2011, more than 25+ 1st and 2nd MLHRs headed out to Summit Vision in Westerville, OH.  For those of you who aren't familiar with Summit Vision, Inc., check out their website.  For me, I think the best thing about Summit Vision is the unique way each of us (individually and as a group) can learn about essential skills such as trust, leadership, communication and decision-marking through outdoor team building activities.

The first activity I got to do was the "zip line".  This was my very first time ever doing a high rope activity.  I'll admit, I was a bit nervous climbing 55 ft. into the air - I don't think it was so much the climb as it was that the entire platform shook as I climbed a rung higher on the ladder.  Through all of that, I conquered my fear and successfully  made it down the zip line!  My takeaways from this activity were: (1) it's fun doing things you've never done before and (2) you definitely learn a lot about yourself by taking risks and/or overcoming your fear to accomplish a goal.

The 2nd activity I really enjoyed was - you guessed it - the step off swing.  Again, this was another high rope activity that required you to climb only 30 ft to a platform where you get harnessed into another rope.  The only nuance to this activity was the fact that I had to actually make myself step off (NOT jump!) to the side of the platform and then swing back and forth about 6-8 times.  For me, that was a tough decision.  I was definitely more scared this time because I felt like I actually had to choose to step off rather just letting the zip line do its thing.  So since I was scared and shaking the first time I stepped off, I asked my instructor, Paige, if I could go back up a 2nd time.  I knew deep down I needed to overcome that fear so I decided to face it head-on.  And, as you can see below by the wonderful videography by the one and only Rob Chabot, how my 2nd step-off jump turned out.

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All in all, the Summit Vision was a great individual and team-building experience for not only me, but the rest of  the MLHR graduate students.  I think each and every one of us enjoyed getting out of our comfort zones as well as getting another opportunity to get to know each other in a different way.

A special thank you to Lisa C. (fellow 2012 MLHR grad student) for taking the pictures you are about to see below.  Thank you, Lisa!

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