UWTSD Outdoor Adventure Education graduate praises lecturers for their passion for the subject

Lewis Thornton recently graduated from The University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s Outdoor Adventure Education course. He has always loved the outdoors, and thought that getting a degree based around education could take him anywhere in the world.

He was initially drawn to the course after attending an open day on the Carmarthen campus. He said

“The lecturers showed how passionate they are about the subject, as well as the location being so perfect for outdoor activities – it just seemed to perfect for what I wanted to do.”

Lewis enjoyed his three years at UWTSD, and his favourite aspect of the course without a doubt was seeing how passionate all the lecturers were.

“They really spread the ‘live for the outdoors’ feeling, and taught as much of the academic stuff as practicable as possible, as well as being as adaptable with me and my learning styles making it as easy as possible for me to get the most out of the three-year course.”

“The biggest way they supported me was with my end of course ‘special project’ where instead of having to write a dissertation they allowed and worked with me to make a outdoor based scheme for Carmarthen, but still using the dissertation format. I can honestly say without that kind of support, I wouldn’t have even gotten through the first year yet alone all three!”

University life has managed to develop Lewis as an individual, from learning more about himself and how he enjoys the outdoors, to ways that he can teach others in the outdoors.

“I’ve developed both hard and soft skills through the course, and seeing the lecturer’s passion for it has most definitely inspired me to also grow and share that passion with as many people as possible.”

Lewis is currently working for the Calvert Trust at their specialist outdoor centre on Exmoor. The trust seeks to help people with a wide range of disabilities and special needs to achieve their potential through the challenge of adventurous activities and to encourage the integration of disabled and able-bodied across society. Currently, they are looking to give Lewis a more permanent role due to the knowledge and skills he has developed from studying outdoor adventure at UWTSD. In the long term, Lewis is looking to venture overseas to further develop his technical skills and to learn more about adventure in different environments. But after he gets bored of travelling, his end goal is to find a good school and to help run an outdoor education course that allows him to share his love of outdoor adventure with young people.

Graham Harvey, Programme Director for Outdoor Adventure Education said:

“Lewis has been a great student over the past three years. Because we work with relatively small class sizes, we get to know our students very well and can adapt our teaching and activities to their needs. Lewis took advantage of the alternative methods of assessment and used his creative and digital skills to complete many of the assessments. He has also taken part in our extracurricular expeditions and activities that we run alongside the taught programme. Lewis has really thrived in this environment, making huge steps forward both in his understanding and practice. The staff have really enjoyed having him on the programme and we are looking forward to seeing how he continues to develop as a professional in the world of outdoor adventure education.”

Further Information

Lowri Thomas

Principal Communications and PR Officer     
Corporate Communications and PR     
Email: lowri.thomas@uwtsd.ac.uk     
Phone: 07449 998476