Ella Chiroux and Graham Imholte each took up rock climbing in high school.
It’s a passion they’ve continued to pursue at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University thanks to Outdoor U and its indoor climbing wall, located in SJU’s Warner Palaestra.
“When I decided to come to Saint John’s, I saw they had a climbing wall here,” said Imholte, a senior-to-be at SJU and a Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School graduate.
“I applied and I’ve worked here all three years now. The staff at the rock wall have become some of my closest friends on campus. They’re amazing people to climb and work with.”
“I started rock climbing with my dad and cousin,” added Chiroux, a junior-to-be at CSB and a graduate of Haddon Township High School in Westmont, New Jersey. “I worked at a climbing wall back home, so when I got here, I applied to work at the wall here. It’s helped me discover this amazing group of people.
“I also took part in the Collegebound program Outdoor U offers,” she continued.
The program pairs incoming CSB and SJU students with group leaders prior to the start of each school year for four days of canoeing and camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness or, new this year, four days of adventure near campus including canoeing, camping, climbing, biking and more.
“It helped introduce me to Outdoor U, and getting involved (here) has provided me the opportunity to try a lot of things I’d never even thought about doing before,” Chiroux said.
Indeed, Outdoor U offers around 40 programs and activities each school year, allowing CSB and SJU students (as well as others in the Central Minnesota community) to fully utilize the abundance of unique natural features and resources available on the two campuses and nearby area.
That includes features like the more than 2,500 acres of lakes, prairie, oak savanna and forest found in the Saint John’s Abbey Arboretum (perfect for hiking, skiing and all kinds of environmental research) and the beach at Lake Sagatagan (where students can swim or check out canoes, kayaks and paddle boards) – not to mention the on-campus disc golf course or the opportunity to camp on campus on Watab Island.
And that’s just scratching the surface.
“Our mission is to provide as many people as possible the opportunity to explore the natural spaces that CSB and SJU have to offer,” CSB and SJU Outdoor Education Program Manager Sierra Hietala said.
“There have been so many studies that show the physical, emotional and spiritual benefits of being outside and exploring the outdoors. We’re lucky here to have so many different ways to do that.”
During the 2024-25 academic year, Outdoor U boasted a student staff of 39, allowing for over 8,600 interactions with students, and the surrounding community – including Pre-K-through-12 school groups and other community members who take advantage of programs offered as well.
Imholte – an environmental studies major – will work with a number of those groups in his role as an Outdoor U student naturalist this summer.
“We offer a unique connection to nature here and we do a lot of community programming,” he said. “There’s such a diversity of natural resources on these campuses – everything from lakes and wetlands to coniferous and hardwood forests. We offer programs and classes on topics that range from butterflies to wildflowers. The staff here is so well-informed and passionate about the outdoors. It’s such a pleasure to be around people who light up and smile every time they see even the smallest insect.”
“Until I got here, I had no idea just how many outdoor activities exist on these two campuses,” added Chiroux, a math major and environmental studies minor.
“Getting out and exploring these spaces is a great way to build community and get people connected with one another. It’s part of what makes these places so amazing.”
Canoeing on Lake Sagatagan.