Past Interns: Read their stories
Our Interns have a lot of stories to share; from their adventures in the first months of training to their course experiences many years later. Read their testimonials below and find out why a Cert IV Internship with Outward Bound is more than just a highly sought after qualification, but an adventure of a lifetime.
Matthew White, 2008 Intern - Current Western Australia Team Coordinator
Where do I begin? It’s like that Rolling Stones song – “you can’t always get what you want – but if you try sometimes, you might just find, you get what you need”.
I came to Outward Bound Australia on nothing more than a whim and a hunch. I finished school in 2003 with every intention of going to uni, figuring out what I wanted to do with my life whilst I was there (that’s what it’s for, right?), and starting a career somewhere.
It took me two years to figure out that university was not the place for me, and another 18 months of aimless wandering before fate intervened in my career path. On the recommendation of a dear friend, having known nothing aside from the information presented on the website, in early 2008 I applied for a position within Outward Bound Australia’s internship program.
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine myself being responsible for 18 young people for 12 days in some of the most remote and beautiful parts of the country. Nor did I imagine that I would learn skills, and use them in my day to day job that most people would experience on their “once in a lifetime adventure”. I certainly did not imagine myself, in the space of three short years, being responsible for frontline management of a team of highly trained professionals, as well as all the equipment, resources and logistics required to run Outward Bound Australia's operations in
And yet here I am. Loving every minute of it.
Words and images cannot describe what the job entails, or the journey of the internship. It has to be experienced to be believed. A day’s work during the Internship? How about a 24km hike, off-track, through thick bushland, to arrive at your campsite for the night at 10pm – only to discover that you have been tasked with a search and rescue scenario, and need to abseil into a cave, retrieve a life sized dummy, and stretcher it out – to arrive at your actual camp at 4am, in the rain, to grab a couple hours sleep and be ready to go at 6am!! (And that was just the second day of eight months!). Challenging? Yes. Rewarding? You better believe it.
It goes without saying that training like that builds a very dedicated, capable, and professional team of people. Colleagues become friends, friends become family – you will never live, work or play with more motivated and passionate individuals than you will at Outward Bound – nor will you receive a greater “on the job” training experience. Climb and Abseil training, White Water Raft Guiding, Four Wheel Drive training, Swift Water Rescue training, Expedition training, Wilderness First Aid training, Logistics Management training and much more. The skills you will learn to do your job to the highest degree, but the experience will better you for life.
You will work in some of the most beautiful areas of the country, wake up every morning to spectacular sunrises, spend the day walking across the high plains of Koscziousko NP with the wild Brumbies, or rafting the Snowy River in Victoria, walking across the brilliant white beaches of WA, or perhaps just spend the day abseiling participants off the ridge into the Orroral Valley in the ACT. You will then view an equally spectacular sunrise, before bedding down under a blaze of stars, knowing that tomorrow begins with another amazing sunrise, and for you, it’s just another day at the office.
I can’t begin to describe how much working here has changed me – some would say is trying to change me! - For the better – especially when I reflect on where I came from when I took my first step on this incredible journey. If your curiosity has been piqued, if you are even remotely interested, if that little voice of hope quietly whispers “what if….?” – Then do it.
Enrol in a course, or apply for the internship, or submit a direct entry application – it could be the best thing you ever do.
