When the polar vortex struck Hillsdale College, nine-foot snow banks loomed over the campus quad. Sinister patches of black ice stretched across the sidewalk. The days were nasty, brutish, and short.
Perfect weather for camping.
Joe Kellam, the instructor for next semester’s wilderness survival class, set up camp with friends when few Hillsdale students dared to venture outdoors for longer than it took to dash from the Grewcock Student Union to Mossey Library.
“People were calling us crazy,” Kellam said. “We were comfortable, though, because we had the right training.”
Kellam has been teaching a wilderness survival class for the past semester alongside Associate Dean of Men Jeffery Rogers. In the future, however, Kellam will be listed as the sole instructor.
“The brunt of the teaching is his doing,” Rogers said. “I did first aid, some cold weather instruction, and emergency stuff. Next semester, he will be teaching it himself.”
Kellam has, through many years of experience outdoors, become the primary wilderness survival instructor for Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources.
“All of my adult life has been spent in wilderness education,” Kellam said. “I went straight out of high school to the Marine Corps — I even had to sign a waiver, since I left early — and learned the survival and navigation skills that go with that.”
The idea for the class began with Rogers but wasn’t made a reality until this past semester. When the survival class was finally put on the schedule, the student reaction was far more enthusiastic than either Rogers or Kellam could have predicted.
“We had nearly 40 students sign up for the class,” Rogers said, “but we dropped down to 20 students after the time schedule was finalized.”
Some students have had extensive experience outdoors. Sophomore Simone Lunt, currently enrolled in the wilderness survival class, has been camping for years.
“I really like outdoorsy stuff like camping and hiking,” Lunt said. “My family has camped every year since I was a baby.”
Others came to the class knowing little about survival skills. Junior Logan Nabozny originally enrolled in the class to become acquainted with outdoorsmanship, as his father and uncle are regular hunters. But the class, more than giving him practical skills to use outdoors, has changed his perspective.
“You look at things in a different light,” Nabozny said. “You think, ‘This is what I have on me. What can I use it for? How can this help me survive?’ You also start collecting things. You never know what you’ll need.”
Kellam’s goal in the class is to bring students outside of their comfort zone, to get them engaged and practically competent in the case of a survival situation.
“This class isn’t about surviving, but thriving,” Kellam said. “The more you know, the less you have to carry. We also focus on leadership skills, so that the students can ensure that a group of people will make it if they are confronted with a crisis.”
Ingenuity is an important part of survival. The “kit mentality,” according to Kellam, teaches students to work with a few core tools. From there, Kellam hopes to teach each student how to use natural resources to replace each element in that basic kit.
“I know how to cut down a tree with a knife,” Nabozny said. “A lot of things can be good, can be useful, even if it’s not in the conventional sense.”
Junior Rob Pfeiffer was surprised at how involved the class has been.
“I wasn’t expecting the instructor to be such a wealth of knowledge,” Pfeiffer said. “We really spend a lot of time doing hands-on stuff.”
Kellam’s practical approach is perfect for students like Lunt, however.
“Someday, I want to look death in the face and live,” Lunt said.
