Students explore outdoors for college credit

By Jeanna Brown, December 2009
Staff Writer

Photo by Jeanna Brown Student Eric Rollman (above) explores caves with instructor Josh Parafinik.

Looking to quench your thirst for adventure?

Paradise Valley Community College offers recreation courses that allow you to explore nature, have fun and meet new people.

Students looking to discover the outdoors and push their endurance by taking an unforgettable trip, look no further than signing up at school to do so. You can expect to see different kinds of wildlife, picturesque waterfalls, tranquil rivers and breath-taking canyons.

Recreational course instructor Josh Parafinik says apart from the normal REC majors, he also sees a wide range of students in the classes between 18 and 29, in search of relieving stress from their constant math homework and experiencing a fun, exciting mini vacation for college credit.

Jessica Teman, a past student of Parafinik’s, says of her experience, “(caving) is like an adult playground.”

Such classes are offered through many of the Maricopa County Community Colleges. PVCC and Scottsdale Community College offer weekend courses that are two days and one night with dinner, dessert, breakfast and transportation included. Among the available excursions: Sedona Mountain Biking, Caving, Canyoneering, Rock Climbing, Outdoor Survival, Outdoor Cooking, Primitive Living Skills, and in the summer, a Repelling Zip-line Ropes course.

All weekend courses are $35, except Outdoor Survival, which is $65, excluding the cost of state accreditation tuition. Also joining the REC hype, Glendale Community College offers Scuba courses and other similar recreational activities.

Longer five-day trips are offered as well and usually take place during spring break and summer time. Available jaunts consist of San Juan River-rafting, a Havasupai Canyon hike, Lake Powell kayaking and Grand Canyon whitewater rafting. Although pricier, these five day trips range between $350 to $575, including most meals and travel and exclude the additional state accreditation cost.

In addition, coming soon to the program will be a journey through Belize comprised of kayaking, snorkeling, caving, sailing and exploring the country’s Mayan ruins. Pricing for this trip is still under development.
Parafinik says the most memorable experience in his 15 years “(was when) a bighorn sheep came up to the camp (on the Grand Canyon whitewater rafting trip) almost close enough to reach out and touch and stood there for them all to gaze at… It was remarkable.”

While on Parafinik’s caving trip, student Beth Brookhouse recalled seeing several deer in the mountains while another, Eric Rollman, a student at SCC, said he was more in awe of “the unexpected, but beautiful architectural structures in all the rooms and tunnels in the cave.”

Rollman says that he would have never thought to do something like caving had it not been for the class, and he is glad he did so.