By Cara Kelly
In an often materialistic society, where symbols
of prosperity are frequently related to brands of jeans
or makes of cars, it can be a rarity to find a young, educated
and charismatic college graduate forgoing the pursuit of
monetary wealth for a more humanitarian cause.
Todd Nolt, a 2002 graduate
of Appalachian State University, serves as executive
director of Mountain Alliance. Photo
by Cara Kelly |
Todd Nolt, a 2002 graduate of Appalachian
State University and current director of Mountain Alliance,
has remained in the High Country after receiving his degree
to pursue his altruistic passions: helping the youth of
the High Country through alternatives to the classroom setting.
After serving his 400-hour required internship for graduation
at Mountain Alliance, a local non-profit agency that offers
leadership building for high school students through outdoor
experiences, Nolt discovered that he valued enjoying his
work every day more than receiving a hefty paycheck.
“For me, I’m content making less money but enjoying
coming to work every day, and for me, the choice of (working
with) high school students seemed a good fit because of
the energy and enthusiasm they have for new experiences,”
Nolt said. “Every day is another chance to laugh and
maybe encourage students to try something new if they haven’t;
or to take them to a different trail or waterfall here in
the mountains that may encourage them to try harder to achieve
their goals, to enjoy this area more, or in many cases to
give back to the community.”
Nolt said the work is extremely rewarding, especially when
he sees the students’ reactions to the service projects.
“If you ask students involved what their favorite event
or activity is, a lot of times you’d expect to hear
the rock climbing or caving or backpacking, but overwhelming
the response is service projects,” Nolt said. “I
think that speaks to the feeling they get when they give
their time to make a difference in the lives of other people.”
Nolt cites a large part of the success of the programs to
the involvement of Appalachian State students, who serve
as exceptional mentors for the students.
“I’m sure we could find some 40-year-old men who
would like to help volunteer and lead outdoor trips, but
I don’t think the youth would respond as well,”
Nolt said. “It is pretty easy to see that our program
would not be able to be where it is if it wasn’t for
the university being here in our community. It’s a
perfect relationship because they’re older, but the
teens still think they are cool.”
Currently, Nolt receives help from approximately 13 volunteers
and part-time staff members from the university, as well
as by service-learning classes a few times throughout the
semester.
A few of the volunteers and part-time employees have initiated
new programs to help the mentoring programs, including a
youth climbing team and a mountain bike rental program.
The climbing team will serve as an alternative to a traditional
sports team, and will allow students to compete with other
climbers across the state.
Overall, Nolt is extremely happy with the progress of the
program since he has started working with the students,
and hopes to have as productive a semester in the spring
as he has this fall.
“I’m kind of refocused or reenergized when we
have an outing with 10 spots and 22 people sign up,”
he said. “That continues to tell me that there is a
pretty important need for something like Mountain Alliance.”
For more information about Mountain Alliance, call (828)
263-0383 or visit www.mountainalliance.org on the Web.
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