Alumni

Once NOLS, always NOLS

Join 375,000+ graduates who carry the lessons of the wilderness into every corner of their lives. The expedition ends. The community never does.

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Alumni worldwide
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Alumni community

Stay connected

The NOLS alumni community stays engaged through trips, events, mentorship, and giving. Whether you graduated last year or decades ago, there is always a place for you around the campfire.

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Stay connected post-course

The wilderness brought us together. The community keeps us close.

From reunion trips to local meetups, alumni events keep the NOLS spirit alive year-round.

Get involved

Ways to get involved

Stay part of the NOLS story. There are many ways to give back, stay connected, and pass the torch.

Alumni Trips

Join fellow grads on curated wilderness trips designed for every skill level. Reconnect with old friends and make new ones on the trail.

Mentor a Student

Share your experience with the next generation of NOLS students. Your story and guidance can shape a future leader.

Give to NOLS

Support scholarships, conservation efforts, and the programs that made your NOLS experience possible for the next generation.

Alumni voices

Stories from the community

Instructor Spotlight: Caeden Greene

A NOLS experience can truly be a transformative experience for a young person’s life, and that was certainly the case for field instructor Caeden Greene. In high school, Caeden embarked on a 30-day Waddington Range Mountaineering Expedition (WAD), long known as one of NOLS’ most rigorous courses. The WAD expedition had such a profound effect on Caeden that he wrote about the experience in his college admissions essays, which eventually landed him at Stanford University. There, he is currently finishing up dual undergraduate and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering. While at Stanford, Caeden did not lose his itch for adventure,…

Turnback Canyon: A NOLS Instructor Shares Lessons from Whitewater Paddling the Alsek River

NOLS instructor Natalie Sands writes about making hard decisions about the most challenging rapid she’s ever faced.

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Alumni story

"NOLS gave me more than skills. It gave me a compass for life. Twenty years later, I still lead with the lessons I learned on that first expedition in the Wind River Range."

James T.

Wind River Wilderness, Class of 2006

Stay in the loop

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Trip announcements, reunion events, community stories, and ways to give back. Delivered to your inbox.

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