Grad Success Stories

Our success stories include graduates who have gone on to achieve success after graduation from the program.


Hailey Hunt, 2019

Hailey Hunt, Algonquin College, Pembroke Campus

Hailey is combining her experience in social justice and experiential therapy with outdoor adventure and interpretation programming as a Residential Care Worker and Outdoor Guide with Wendigo Lake Expeditions. WLE seeks to promote positive change and the learning of pro-social values and skills through a blending of experiential education and cognitive-behavioural strategies to promote intense and accelerated learning in a safe and supportive environment.


Jake McKee, 2018

Jake McKee, Outdoor Adventure Naturalist, Pembroke CampusJake was hired immediately after graduating from the Outdoor Adventure Naturalist program. “I’m proud to call Bear Creek Outdoor Center my new home, where I work alongside industry leaders Jill Baxter & Matt Cuccaro as the operations manager. My longterm goals reflect those Bear Creek – to foster a healthy and prosperous community for outdoor adventurers who attend Bear Creek and who cross my path through other outdoor medium, like commercially guided trips. Not only did the program grant me the space and tools to build a repertoire of hard and soft skills, but it also offered me the chance to network with industry leaders which have allowed me to stay connected with employment opportunities and opportunities to continue my education through experience in the workplace.”


Jeremy Campbell, Outdoor Adventure Naturalist student headshot

Jeremy Campbell, 2016

Jeremy is the Owner/Operator of Intuitive Expeditions based primarily in Central and Southern Ontario. He provides Outdoor Education, Wilderness Guiding and Holistic Health services to organizations and the general public. Jeremy has worked as a Public Programmer for the Wye Marsh National Wildlife Area and as a Public Programmer and Program Developer for the Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation in Alberta.


Lauren Knowles, Outdoor Adventure Naturalist, Algonquin College, Pembroke Campus

Lauren Knowles, 2015

“Since graduating from the program, I’ve been lucky enough to travel a bit and gain work experience at a few different organizations. Right after finishing the program, I traveled through New Zealand, Australia, and Iceland, and to my immense pleasure found that a lot of the skills that I’d developed in the program – practical outdoor skills as well as project management skills – came in useful during the trips.

I’ve now worked for a number of different organizations, including conservation authorities, private organizations, and outdoor centres. I’ve run day camps with Quinte Conservation and the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve, I’ve facilitated outdoor education programs at YMCA Camp Pine Crest, Camp Kandalore, and I’m currently working at the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority. A lot of the skills and experiences from the program overlapped with the work I did at Pine Crest and Kandalore. I ran programs such as high ropes, low ropes, team building, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, nature hikes, quinzhee building, survival skills, and orienteering. The experiences I had and the skills I developed in the program really helped me to succeed in those positions. And not only the practical skills, I also find that in every position I’ve worked, I use the knowledge I gained from courses like Outdoor Leadership, Interpretive Program Planning, and Interpretive Program Design and Delivery. I also use a lot of knowledge from courses like Ecology, Geology and Landforms, Flora for Naturalists, Risk Management, and Wildlife for Naturalists. And courses like Leave No Trace Wilderness and Travel Skills form a solid foundation for the way that I facilitate programming and interact with my environment.

I graduated from an undergraduate university program in Environmental Studies before finding Outdoor Adventure Naturalist (ODAN), but the ODAN program gave me the practical skills and knowledge to plan and deliver outdoor programs, and it is an enormous part of why I’ve had the opportunity to work with the organizations I have. I know that no matter where I find myself in the outdoor/conservation industry, the skills and knowledge that I developed in ODAN will help me to succeed!”


Marc-André Gosselin, 2014Marc-Andre Gosselin, Outdoor Adventure Naturalist, Algonquin College, Pembroke Campus

Since graduating in 2014, Marc-André has worked with Voyageur Quest, as an Outdoor Educator and Guide, leading canoe trips in Algonquin Park, and ran sea kayak expeditions to Abel Tasman National Park with Kahu Kayaks, New Zealand. Marc-André has made Australia his current home and is working with an Outdoor Education Group that specializes in teen programs.


Outdoor Adventure Naturalist grad, Kate Ming-SunKate Ming-Sun, 2013

Kate spent the first thirteen years of her career working in audit, accounting, and finance roles in public accounting firms and mutual fund companies in the U.S. and Canada. In 2012, she took a leap of faith, left her CFO role, and enrolled in the Outdoor Adventure Naturalist program. Now Kate is the chief adventurer and owner of KMS Outdoors and has built a successful outdoor adventure company. Kate also teaches at the Waterfront Campus in our Outdoor Adventure Naturalist, Outdoor Adventure, and Action Sports Park Development programs.


Amy Tunstall, Outdoor Adventure Naturalist, Algonquin College, Pembroke CampusAmy Tunstall, 2012

“What the college program gave me was the confidence to access the outdoors, something I never really grew up with. Which lead to undertaking a number of expeditions. In 2014, I cycled across Canada, spending three months reaching coast to coast. In the time I learned a lot while raising quite a bit of money. While raising money for different mental health charities, I started a mental well being project called AimOutside. Sharing inspiration, tips and skills to get people outdoors and active.”

Amy splits her time annually, spending three to six months completing self-propelled/motorized expeditions and collaborating with athletes sponsored by a number of outdoor companies. The other half of the year, she works as a wildland firefighter for the province of Alberta replenishing funds for her the next big adventure.


James RobertsJames Roberts, 2005

James, along with his wife Dympna, is full-time owner and manager of Ontario Sea Kayak Centre in Parry Sound, ON. A Paddler’s Pilgrimage features James and documents a sea kayaking expedition to Qaqortuq, Greenland. This film was part of the Reel Paddling Film Festival.