Monthly newsletter for Voyageur Outward Bound alumni, parents, alumni staff, donors, and friends.

From Challenge To Lifelong Impact—Meet Lisa Wong

After tackling a relentless winter dogsledding expedition in 2018, Lisa translated the lessons of endurance and teamwork into a bold new career chapter—and a lasting commitment to Voyageur Outward Bound School. 

“I hope that my approach to my course can inspire others to give an Outward Bound experience a try. I’m 54—I just took a new job, I’m growing the Outward Bound network, and I am committed to the call of Kurt Hahn to serve, to strive and not to yield.”

Read how a week of pushing past limits in negative 40-degree cold sparked a passion for board leadership, advocacy, and creating life-changing wilderness opportunities for others.

The Lasting Legacy of Scholarship

Bob Fletcher spent four summers in the late '70s as a course leader at Voyageur Outward Bound School. He helped countless students expand their personal horizons through the experience of a challenging group wilderness adventure. His time as an instructor was the work he felt proudest of and most inspired by in his life.

But his courses were not only about instilling perseverance and grit. In equal measure, his students returned with new appreciation for the camaraderie, freedom, and beauty that is possible through wilderness travel—inspired perhaps by a spontaneous night paddle on a glassy lake, an unhurried conversation about life with your canoe-mate, or the treat of his signature dutch oven date nut bread after returning from solo.

To honor his life in a meaningful and lasting way, Bob’s son Derek established a memorial scholarship fund in his name to provide annual tuition support to students with financial need interested in enrolling in canoe-based expeditions in the Minnesota-Ontario Boundary Waters.

Derek shares, “In establishing this scholarship, it’s my hope that future generations of students can be inspired by these same ideas and that my dad’s name will live on in the world attached to a cause he cared deeply about.”

A Partnership for Lifelong Learning

Jack Haggerty, VOBS alumnus, Haggerty Family Foundation Director, and VOBS Board Member, believes, "Today, more than ever, young people are facing new and different challenges. Problems range from technology overload to lack of interpersonal problem-solving and a general indifference to physical outdoor excellence. We know that Outward Bound addresses these issues through character building and leadership development in its participants.”

Jack's personal experience is a testament to the value of being on course. And today, through the Haggerty Family Foundation, that foundation is giving access to confidence-building journeys to numerous youth.

A long-standing partner of Voyageur Outward Bound School, the Haggerty Family Foundation supports INSIGHT programming, open enrollment scholarships, and group expeditions, giving students real opportunities to practice and transfer their learned skills. And, all of us are better for it.

Belonging from Day One

By taking learning out of the classroom and into nature, VOBS and The Blake School gave freshmen a foundation to carry them through their high school journey.

In an ambitious single-day INSIGHT program at Fort Snelling State Park, 130 ninth graders, their advisory teachers, and VOBS instructors gathered to build trust, establish new connections, and lay the groundwork for high school success. The event marked the largest single-day Twin Cities INSIGHT program in VOBS’s recent history.

By taking students into the outdoors on day one, VOBS and The Blake School did more than run a successful inaugural event for the class of 2030—they set an intentional tone of connection, confidence, and belonging that will resonate throughout the entire school year.