Ithaca College

Patrick Lewis' manuscript, "Embracing the Mystery Box: How Outdoor Leaders Discover and Sustain Their Way of Life" appears in outdoor industry journal. 

This article explores the lived experience of outdoor leaders and attempts to peer inside a mystery box of uncertainty and ambiguity on how to become and maintain a career in outdoor leadership. Building on previous literature addressing stages of career development, this manuscript uses the stories of outdoor professionals to highlight an emergent narrative on becoming and maintaining a career in outdoor leadership. The emergent narrative describes strategies used by outdoor professionals for sustaining their discovered life theme including establishing community networks, connecting with nature and using goals and challenge. These findings may help future students and burgeoning professionals to persist when facing typical barriers to career participation and burnout.