Be an outsider with Western

By Audrey Harton

Western Wyoming Community College

Western Wyoming Community College launched a new website in 2019. The new website is a powerful tool that helps prospective students gain valuable insight into what it is like to attend Western. The site includes information on the Top Ten Reasons Why to attend Western, campus events calendar, financial aid information, applications, campus tours, student life information, details on courses and anything students may want to know about the College.

One of the website pages, the Be an Outsider page, is dedicated to the abundant outdoor activities just a car ride from campus. This particular page is designed to combat the misconception that “there is nothing to do here”. The Be an Outsider website page provides an interactive map of outdoor activities nearby.

The map features locations, directions and descriptions for activities such as, camping, cross country skiing, fishing, hot springs, mountain biking and more. Southwest Wyoming has much to offer the outdoor enthusiast during all four seasons.

The Be an Outsider page operates complementary to Western’s outdoor enrichment course offerings. These courses are designed to help students embrace the unique Wyoming landscape. Western offers courses in snowboarding, hiking, wilderness first aid, fly fishing and many others.

The outdoor courses are open to community members as well as students enrolled in Western. Community members do not have to be enrolled in other courses and have the opportunity to enroll in just a single course at a time. For those students enrolled in Western, outdoor equipment rentals are also available on campus.

“The Be an Outsider page is a quick and user-friendly tool to find outdoor recreational opportunities in our geographical area. The locations are easily identifiable on the interactive map and the links lead you to courses that can enhance your recreational experiences at the map locations.

The Be and Outsider page is not only handy for students and residents new to our area, but also useful to long-time residents looking for new activities and places to explore,” stated Dorothy Harton, Interim Chair Math and Science Division, and instructor of cross-country skiing.

To learn about the outdoor enrichment courses Western has to offer each semester, check out the Mustang Connections app, which can be found in The App Store and Google Play Store, or by visiting westernwyoming.edu/app.

In addition to the website page and enrichment course offerings, Western also has an Instagram account called Western Wyoming Outsider (@WesternWyomingOutsider), where people can submit their outdoor photos from their Wyoming adventures and give other people a chance to see those areas.

This gives people a chance to check out photos from the classes as well as areas of Southwest Wyoming.

To visit the Be an Outsider page, visit http://www.westernwyoming.edu/student-life/be-an-outsider/index.php.