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By Timothy R. Olsen ’09, MBA ’18

A fractured ankle is not a pleasant experience. And attempting to drink water so gunky that it renders filters nonfunctional isn’t on most people’s bucket list. 

But if you ask Kirstie Kandaris about the impact working as a trip leader for USU’s Outdoor Programs had on her Aggie experience, her excitement can hardly be contained.

“I knew I would like it, and I have absolutely loved it,” Kandaris gushes. “I met a ton of really wonderful people and learned so many valuable skills. It made what was already a good master’s experience into something really, really memorable.”

It was certainly memorable this past spring when Kandaris snapped her right fibula during a kayaking trip to Lake Powell — her last as a trip leader for USU. 

Her group had spent Saturday playing around the sand dunes in the back of Moqui Canyon and was hiking back to the kayaks to return to camp and prepare dinner. While the group was walking down a small muddy hill, her right foot sunk in the mud causing her to lose her balance. When she stepped with her left foot to catch herself, it slipped, but the right foot stayed planted in the mud.

Snap!

Despite that setback, it didn’t take away from Kandaris’ moment. 

“When I was an undergrad, the first trip I went on was a kayaking and Lake Powell trip,” she remembers. “And then that was the last trip that I led, so it was just kind of a cool, like full circle moment.”

Originally from Salt Lake City, Kandaris earned a bachelor’s from the University of Utah where she discovered their Outdoor Adventures program and “went on a ton of trips.” Upon her arrival in Logan to pursue a master’s in ecology, she immediately connected with Outdoor Programs and knew she wanted to take her involvement a step further. 

Where she’d been bogged down by working multiple jobs and running student organizations during her undergraduate studies, her time at USU — while busy — provided the flexibility necessary to take on the role of a trip leader. 

It’s a role that not only provided Kandaris an opportunity to spend time outdoors and pursue her passions, but one that supplied her with skills she says will benefit her throughout her life.

“It’s a very different dynamic than somebody that you sit next to in your chemistry class. You get to know people a lot better, and you form deeper, more meaningful relationships,” she says. “Different people respond differently to different tactics, so just being able to read people and talk to them and see what their needs are in that moment, and how to accommodate them accordingly, is really important.”

A Winding Road

Outdoor Programs — the artist formerly known as the Outdoor Recreation Center and Outdoor Recreation Programs — has been part of Utah State University for decades. Its purpose is to provide adventure and discovery to USU students while teaching them how to recreate responsibly. But what used to be tucked away in the basement of the distribution building on the east side of the football stadium got a big visual upgrade when the Aggie Recreation Center opened just over a decade ago.

“Coming from the old shop in the forgotten north 40 of campus, we were kind of out of sight, out of mind,” remembers Greg Davis, USU’s assistant director for of Outdoor Programs who’s been overseeing the program since 2013. “It felt like we really had to fight tooth and nail to for people to know we existed and what we did. The move here to the Aggie Rec Center — the heart of campus where we have students walking by every day, and we’re in this great building — it definitely gave us a platform for growth.”

And grow they have.

It’s been quite a journey from humble beginnings as a small student club in the 1970s, to moving under the Campus Recreation umbrella with part-time staff member oversight in the 1980s, to the 3,053 square-foot space OP now occupies. In the 1990s, as part of that growth, the program expanded its operations from rentals to also include trips and outings for students. 

For Matt Barry, a 2024 Outdoor Product Design and Development program graduate from Bend, Oregon, those excursions — along with the opportunity to work for OP — played an integral role in his success at Utah State. 

“Outdoor Programs was really paramount to me staying at USU. It gave me a community of people who I became really close with, and it kind of gave me a purpose at USU outside of my academics,” says Barry, who notes he had a hard time focusing on his studies in high school. “It was really critical to my academic journey that I had that space to go to and to work in, to challenge myself in a different way. 

“And there was a good amount of crossover with my degree. I was doing a lot of trips and trainings in the field, being able to test these products and think of new product ideas that I could then turn into projects for my classes. So, they really went together really pretty well and set myself up for kind of my career trajectory.”

That career trajectory included stints after graduation working for the U.S. Forest Service as a wildland firefighter back in Oregon and interning at the Utah Avalanche Center for a season. But in May 2025, Barry landed a job at Weber State University as a program coordinator over the Wildcats’ adventure program and trip leader training — a direct reflection of his work at USU. 

“I learned so much in those roles as a trip leader, learning how to work together as a team in these really dynamic, fast-paced environments where things can change instantaneously,” Barry explains. “Learning how to problem solve on the fly, work with a small group, and really kind of rely on yourself and your team to make the right decisions. I think that taught me a lot, and those are transferable skills that I’ll take with me throughout my career.”

Gear Up

Located on the north side of the ARC on ground floor, the OP rental shop provides myriad equipment for outdoor activities in all seasons. Want to give skiing, snowboarding, or mountain biking a try? They’ve got you covered. A weekend camping trip with friends? No problem. Tents, sleeping pads and bags, backpacks, and cooking gear — they’ve got it all, right down to the coffee pot. 

Looking for a little more adventure? Climbing gear — shoes, helmets, and harnesses — can be rented for rappelling in Logan Canyon or a weekend trip to the City of Rocks. You can even rent 12-, 14-, or 16-foot inflatable rafts with all the necessary accoutrements to tackle the Alpine section of the Snake River or any number of aquatic excursions.

“We want every student on campus to participate … there’s lots of groups of students that we still haven’t seen come through our doors that we want to come through our doors,” Davis says. “So, finding ways to connect with and provide opportunities for them [is important], but the growth has been great.”

Though located on campus, this equipment is available for rent by anyone — staff, faculty, community members, and students alike. However, USU students are incentivized with a helpful 35% discount. And while they can rent the equipment to pursue the activities on their own, OP also offers outdoor-adventure based trips. 

Recent fall trips included Logan Canyon rock climbing, City of Rocks climbing and camping, Labyrinth Canyon canoeing, and Moab rock climbing and mountain biking. Upcoming trips include Canyonlands backpacking, Oct. 15-18, and Lake Powell kayaking during the first week in November. 

All told, Outdoor Programs organizes roughly 40 trips each year, and while these trips certainly include enjoyment for all skill levels, the goal is to remove the barrier to entry for participation as much as possible.

“They make it really affordable for students,” Kandaris emphasizes. “Even if you don’t have basic camping gear, they can supply all of that for you. They just make it very approachable. As soon as I found out about it, I recognized what an amazing opportunity it was and was just registering for all the trips that I could. Especially the more technical ones I could never afford to do on my own or wouldn’t feel safe doing on my own.

“It’s a riot. It’s so fun. The activities themselves, you know, the adrenaline rush and learning how to do this new skill that’s amazing. But then there’s also the camaraderie of it. You make different friendships camping with somebody and rafting with them — doing these cool outdoor activities.”

Sharing is Caring

Echoing Kandaris’ assertion that the trips have something for all skill levels, Devon “Devo” Derby says he always learns new things despite an abundance of outdoor recreation experience.

Now in his mid-30s, Derby returned to school to pursue a second bachelor’s degree and become a pilot. He’s also dual majoring in aviation management and just kicked off his second year as an OP trip leader. 

He initially graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2013 with a degree in outdoor recreation management, which led to work as a guide in Colorado for a program called Warrior Adventure Quest. Basically, Derby was a civilian employee who would take Army units coming back from deployment on excursions that “introduced soldiers to safe, adrenaline-induced activities, offering positive alternatives to common challenges faced both after deployments and in everyday life.”

This included activities like whitewater rafting in the summer, mountaineering in the fall, and skiing or ice climbing trips in the winter. 

Derby then spent time guiding on his own, focusing on climbing and skiing, and even becoming an athlete manager for Adidas. When COVID hit, though, he shifted gears again, serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, before landing at Utah State. As a trip leader, he brings an abundance of experience and enjoys passing on the skills he’s picked up during his journey. 

“One of my biggest things is to be able to turn around and teach it,” Derby exclaims. “There’s no sense in having all the experience and background that I have, and the pursuits that I’ve chosen to do, if I can’t share them with somebody else.”

So, whether it’s your first time in the woods or you’re a seasoned outdoor adventurer, there’s one thing Derby, Kandaris, and Barry all agree on. The relationships built — both amongst themselves as trip leaders and the student participants — are enduring. As are the skills they learn along the way. 

“To see the growth and the development, and mostly just see the friendships that form is like the coolest thing in the world,” Davis emphasizes. “That’s probably my favorite thing to see and gives me the most satisfaction in this job … that end result is what really makes it worthwhile.”