This Week >> 5/22/2008
This week Let's Travel! talks with Mickey Freeman, the COO of Outward Bound, an organization that organizes adventures that challenge and inspire people to push themselves to new heights of personal growth. For the last segment, David Alwadish, CEO of ItsEasy.com gives listeners tips on how to avoid passport and visa problems when traveling.
Guests
Outward Bound
G. P. Michael "Mickey" Freeman currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Outward Bound, the nation's leading experiential education nonprofit. Based in Golden, CO, Freeman is responsible for Outward Bound's national wilderness adventure programs for youth and adults, professional, corporate and group programs, and programs for at-risk and struggling teens. Additionally, Freeman is responsible for Outward Bound’s curricula, training and development, and research and assessment programs, as well as national information technology infrastructure. In addition to ongoing fundraising for scholarships, programs for veterans returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and an innovative program for grieving teens who have lost a parent or sibling, Freeman recently raised $1M to start Outward Bound Denver as a "model" urban center for local wilderness learning expeditions.
Freeman previously served as President of Outward Bound Wilderness, the flagship division of Outward Bound and the leading provider of wilderness adventure programs for youth and adults in the US. He participated in two Outward Bound courses in his youth: a 26-day sailing course in Maine in high school and a 7-day leadership development course in Colorado in college.
Prior to joining Outward Bound, Freeman served as co-founder and CEO of Atlanta-based BizAir Ventures, a microjet regional transportation concept company, and President of Atlanta-based Schoolpop, the largest online school fundraising company in the US that has raised over $200M in funds for schools and nonprofits. After business school, he spent six years at Kansas City-based Sprint Corp. in various line and staff positions, including Director of Marketing for Sprint’s $1.2B wholesale long-distance division and Manager of Strategic Planning for Sprint’s $2.5B consumer long-distance division. Subsequently, Freeman served in general management positions at two startup technology companies. He began his career at the Institute of Government in North Carolina placing college interns in state and local government.
Freeman is active in the communities where he lives, including serving as Vice Chairman of AXL Academy, a startup Outward Bound Expeditionary Learnings School in Aurora, CO, and serving on the Director’s Circle of Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta. He formerly served on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City. In high school and college, Freeman was a Spaatz Cadet Colonel in the Civil Air Patrol, the civilian auxiliary of the US Air Force, and was selected as one of 50 college seniors for the inaugural class of Leadership America, a national leadership development program.
Freeman has a BA from UNCG, where he was a Reynolds Scholar and which awarded him its Young Alumni Award in 2005, and an MBA from Harvard University, and lives in Golden, CO, with his wife, Caroline, and three children.
Terri Latimer is one of many Outward Bound alums who had a life-changing experience on one of their many programs. She has written two essays of her journeys. Below is one of them.
Maturing – Outward Bound Style
Completing three Outward Bound courses at early ages in my life profoundly impacted me as an adolescent because they helped me to discover the self-confidence that I needed to break my shyness and to reveal my entity.
I learned about Outward Bound School from my best friend, Elizabeth Gooch, who had completed a course when she was fourteen years old. As a sophomore in high school, she excited me with her stories and experiences that she had during her course in Colorado, and I quickly became interested in the Outward Bound School and asked my mom to enroll me in a course.
As a young high school student, the thought of not showering or being seen without makeup was alien to me. I would shower before and after soccer games and even wore makeup during the games. At this point in my life, I felt makeup was a necessity for me that enhanced my appearance, and I was not aware that I did not need it. So, a sense of insecurity about my self-image existed, and I was oblivious to it.
Also, my true voice in life was not established. People told me what to do, and I obeyed because I thought that a proper young lady should be quiet and do what she is told. Rarely did I question my actions about what I was doing or what I was being asked to do, especially in school and in church. Therefore, I did not have a good grasp on the way I wanted to live my life, and today, I view myself then, in 1998, as a puppet that was manipulated by society and as a voiceless being in the world who was very dependent on her family.
My independence emerged and my self-confidence grew during my first course that I completed when I was seventeen. It was a 16-day backpacking and rock-climbing course with the North Carolina Outward Bound School in the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina. Before this course, I was inexperienced with the backcountry, and the only information I knew about living in the wilderness was from what Gooch told me about her course.
Experiencing my first solo made me appreciate silence, and constantly, I thought about my life and everything I took for granted. I recognized how fortunate I was, and I noticed that until Outward Bound forced me out of my comfort zone and away from the securities of material wealth, I had been ignoring the important and simple things in life. (Now, I praise running water and having a toilet that I can sit on that is only six feet away from my bed). I realized that I was lucky to have parents who loved my sister and me unconditionally and would do anything in their power to make us happy. Also, during my solo, I thought about how much I appreciated food. When the ants attacked my well-hung food at night, it angered me the next day, but I learned the ants were not the problem, anticipation was, and I had to learn to better anticipate things and to pay better attention to my surroundings. Therefore, the solo was an eye-opening experience that silenced other people and let me think about myself and my aspirations in life.
The personal challenge, 12-mile run, stimulated my senses, and I learned that if your heart is set on something and you utilize all your mental and physical strength, then you can conquer any goal. In addition, the challenge made me aware that I was a natural athlete, and I loved physical challenges because of the adventurous thrill I got from them. Nonetheless, my first course acquainted me with myself and the adult I was becoming.
My second course, I decided to do after my freshman year of college because I felt I was in dire need of a backpacking excursion. Plus, the previous summer I had volunteered for the Student Conservation Association for five weeks in the wilderness, building a trail in Kentucky’s Cumberland Gap National Historic Park, and the summer before that one, was my first Outward Bound course. Therefore, it seemed right to spend my summers in the backcountry, and I signed up for my second Outward Bound course, which was in the High Sierra Nevada Mountains of California with the Pacific Crest Outward Bound School.
Before I left for California, I was a diligent-studying college student whose life consisted of soccer practice, sleeping, eating, and studying. Fun-time was minimal, and my dad was always raving about how much fun he had in college and had always been wanting to go back, so I was asking myself, where was the fun I was supposed to be having in college? I felt I had no time to relax and enjoy life because I was too worried about making an "A," preparing for soccer practice or a soccer game, and pleasing everybody else but myself. So, when summer arrived, I was ready to have fun.
My second solo allowed me to evaluate my life and to ask myself if I had been abiding by the goals that I had set for myself during my first solo in North Carolina, and if I was not, then how could I get them back on track. The goals were based on the four pillars:
- Physical Fitness- Set your limits high because it is amazing what the human body is capable of accomplishing, and always stay in shape and continue challenging your endurance level.
- Compassion- Respect all people, and find a way to always stay positive in any situation. Also, observe people and notice how stupid they look when they yell and hurt others for unexplained reasons. Your life is yours, and you choose how to live and manipulate it by being either positive or negative.
- Craftsmanship- Performing half-fast jobs will never accomplish anything and has no value to you. If you commit to something (remember you always have the choice not to), complete it with all your effort because it will make you feel terrific and well rewarded. Plus being somewhat of a perfectionist is who you are. The guilt sickens you if something is not done correctly.
- Self-Reliance- Realize that you are an adult. No longer do you need a friend or family member to go with you every place. After all, you love being alone and doing what you want, and boredom is not natural for you.
I set these goals for myself on my first course, and during my second solo, I refined them and made them life-long goals that I intended to follow and religiously obey.
Both, my NCOBS and my PCOBS course, I view as self-awareness experiences in the sense that I definitely learned a lot about who I am and the lifestyle that I feel that suits me the best. Nonetheless, my third course, the Chilean classic course, was a confidence booster because I proved to myself that I had already been living by the goals that I set for myself. So, my third course helped me realize that I was following my goals and that all I had to do was continue being myself.
Before I left for my Chilean NCOBS course, I had just graduated from college and was not entirely sure of the next stage in my life. It was hard for me to understand that people graduate from college knowing exactly what kind of career they want because I did not. Yes, I loved studying professional writing and being mentored by phenomenal professors, but writing was a passion and a hobby of mine that I knew I would always do, and there were so many other career interests of mine that I wanted to pursue, like maybe being a personal trainer, a pilot for the Navy, or an Outward Bound instructor. So, because of my many pursuits, life after college was a huge crossroad for me.
In the meantime, to celebrate graduating from college and having completed my cooperative writing study (internship) with the marketing department of the NCOBS in Asheville, North Carolina, I left for Northern Patagonia, in December, of 2003, to endure a 23-day mountaineering course.
During this course, I had less of a spiritual growth period and more of a hands-on-experience. Beside learning compass and map use, we spent several days learning these mountaineering skills:
- Snow-walking techniques
- Ice axe use
- Self arrest tactics
- Rope team travel across glaciers
- Crampon use
- Crevasse rescuing
All of these skills were exciting to learn, and left us no time for experiencing a solo or a personal challenge day. (I was bummed that my crewmates would not experience a solo, but no course is the same as another, and it made me appreciate my first two solos even more).
Soon it was summit-attempt day, and waking up at two a.m. and hiking under the illuminating moon with the stars twinkling above us seemed surreal. I could not believe that I was actually walking on a glacier with deep crevasses so wide that a couple of Greyhound buses could fall in them, but with Dave Elmore leading my team, his extreme precautions eased my worries. Plus, we had two other teams, led by Clayton Montgomery and Ryan Waters (Waters just summited Mt. Everest) that could possibly rescue us, so I felt safer. With danger threatening us with almost every step, mountaineering in Chile was an unforgettable experience.
I completed my third course knowing that I had a good sense of my true self, and even though, I was only 23, I felt Outward Bound had given me several life-altering experiences that taught me a lot about life, which caused my "matureness" level to increase more quickly than it should have.
Now, when I reflect upon my life, I am so thankful for how the Outward Bound School has guided me, thus far, in my journey of life. From my Outward Bound School experiences, I have learned to take nothing for granted and to appreciate everything, especially my family, friends, and food. Omar Nunez, one of my first instructors, encouraged me to speak up more and to shy away from my timidness. As a child, I cringed when I had to speak up or when I had to be “in the spot light,” but now, I always try to speak up when I know I should because Nunez proved to me on my first Outward Bound course that everyone’s voice mattered, especially my own. Also, I have learned that I am entitled to my own beliefs, and it is my right to stand up for my values. So, no one should ever tell me what to think or should tell me how to live my life because it is my life, and I decide how to live it. I can act either negatively or positively in life, and I choose the positive side because it creates a much better environment. Being compassionate continues to improve my life, and from the Outward Bound School teaching me compassion and comradery, I have met some of the most amazing individuals who have helped transform me from a very dependent and ignorant teenager into a self-established, strong-willed, and independent 23-year-old who strives to live her life through her own beliefs.
To read another essay by Terri, click here
David J. Alwadish - CEO, ItsEasy.com
Passport Tips from David
1. If you’re applying for a passport through the U.S. Passport Agency, do it well in advance. Last year it took two to three months to get a passport this way. For faster service use a passport expediter like ItsEasy.com
2. Always carry a copy of the "picture page" of your passport in your wallet. If you lose your passport in a foreign country, showing this copy to the U.S. Embassy in that country will speed up the replacement process.
3. Though you might think it nice to smile for a passport picture, don't. The rules say your mouth must be closed.
4. Only original photos are accepted by the Passport Agency. No copies or digitally-scanned photos are accepted.
5. Keep in mind that many countries insist that your passport must be valid for six months after the end of your trip.
6. Some countries—like South Africa—insist on as many as three empty pages in your passport, and those pages have to be "visas pages," not "endorsements pages.".
7. Though an adult's passport is good for 10 years, a child’s passport is valid for only five years.
8. Both parents, mother and father, must sign the application forms for a child’s passport.
Companies
Outward Bound
Our mission is to inspire character development and self-discovery in people of all ages and walks of life through challenge and adventure, and to impel them to achieve more than they ever thought possible, to show compassion for others and to actively engage in creating a better world.
"The aim of education is to impel young people into value forming experiences."
- Kurt Hahn, Founder
Outward Bound is a non-profit educational organization with five core programs that change lives, build teams, and transform schools. These programs are Outward Bound Wilderness, Expeditionary Learning Schools Outward Bound, Outward Bound Professional, Outward Bound Urban Centers and Outward Bound Discovery. We deliver adventure in the wilderness, urban centers, workrooms, and classrooms to help others achieve their possibilities and to inspire them to serve others and the world around them.
To request some information from Outward Bound, click here
ItsEasy.com
If someone needs a new or renewed passport right away, a photo can be taken and an application downloaded right at the airport, thanks to ItsEasy. Depending on the timing, ItsEasy.com can get the new passport back to the airport, often on the same day. Of course, while ItsEasy's service operates 24/7, passports and visas cannot be obtained on Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays, when the U.S. Passport Agency and foreign consulates are closed.
ItsEasy.com has 35 full- and part-time employees in New York and across the country. In addition to passports, the company can expedite international driving permits and visas for most foreign countries. Its website, ItsEasy.com, also gives information on those countries—such as the newly-hot destination of Libya—for which it cannot obtain visas. Americans who need Libyan visas must apply to the Libyan Embassy, aka the Peoples' Bureau of the Great Socialist Peoples’ Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (sic) in Ottawa, Canada.
ItsEasy.com’s emergency help desk at JFK also functions as a Concierge Service. Clients from out of town who have to reschedule a flight (and Mr. Alwadish can tell them when to reschedule) can store luggage and have the Hotel Desk book a hotel room at a discounted rate. In addition the help desk can hold airline tickets, important business documents, keys and other items for passenger pickup that clients (or their travel agents) have left at ItsEasy.com's Lexington Avenue or Great Neck offices.
For more information about ItsEasy.com services at JFK Airport; 360 Lexington Avenue, New York City; 1 Cuttermill Road, Great Neck, NY; and across the country; log onto www.ItsEasy.com. For immediate service, call 1-866-ITS-EASY (487-3279).