Calum’s Raleigh Story

How I Gained the Confidence to Make a Change in My Career

From growing up in a rural Scottish Village to travelling through Nepal and Morrocco, Raleigh alumni Calum has always enjoyed adventuring through nature.

After graduating from university with a degree in Business, Calum was seeking adventure and a sense of purpose again. But it wasn’t until 2006, after getting inspired by his Raleigh Expedition to Namibia, that Calum realised he could turn his love for nature into a purposeful career as an Outdoor Educator and qualified Primary School Teacher.

Here’s how Raleigh gave Calum the confidence and inspiration to pursue his career.

How Did You Realise Your Potential While on Expedition?

I think when you’re stuck in university, you feel a bit limited. I felt limited with my academic ability and how far I could go with that. But I think, when you’re on Raleigh, when you’re sitting on the top of a rock on your Expedition, and you’re in the middle of nowhere in the desert looking out you think, “We could do anything with our lives if we wanted to”. It’s quite a powerful thing.

I have ADHD. I think that made it difficult for me at school and university because I was always quite frustrated in that setting. But I think being on Expedition, I felt I could be useful to a group because I was helping people. I liked helping people and I didn’t have to necessarily rely on academic skills there.

I’ve always been quite shy to take the lead. But on one particular day of the Expedition, when we were all kind of arguing with each other, I stepped up and said “Well, I can be the leader tomorrow and then I can change things”. And it worked.

I always look back to that time when I have a bad day and think “Oh yeah, I do have the ability to be a leader”. That setting helped me to take on leadership roles now. Just that memory of being able step up in a tough circumstance.

What Valuable Lessons Did You Take Away from Your Expedition?

I had such a great time on the trek. It built my confidence, because I didn’t have a lot of confidence before. I was a bit shy in groups. But I enjoyed being outside and being in Africa and seeing the wildlife and being with people.

I think doing something like Raleigh makes you think outside the box. Raleigh is about having the confidence to try different things, having the confidence to be able to make mistakes and be resilient.

How Did Your Expedition Inspire You to Become an Outdoor Educator?

I’ve always liked the outdoors, I always liked walking and trekking.

While I was at University, I was studying the wrong thing. And then I did the Raleigh Expedition and a few years later I went to Edinburgh Uni to do an Outdoor Education postgrad diploma.

Raleigh gave me more confidence to travel to different places, take on new challenges, but also to make a change in my career.

On Expedition, working outdoors for me was nice. It helped me speak to people and be more sociable and find my strengths. Now as an Outdoor Educator, I’ve tried to recreate that a little bit with the lessons I do with kids. I see kids who generally find it a bit difficult in the class, they thrive more outside given the space and the new skill set they can show other than academics.

After my postgraduate diploma I came to the Netherlands and started taking students out to the forest once a week and doing math challenges or literacy or scavenger hunts.

Then I decided to do the master’s element of my education (in) outdoor learning and primary education. I ended up doing it full-time.

Do You Have Advice for Young People Considering Doing an Expedition?

I would say don’t worry about how you perceive yourself. Just go and do it, and you will find that you have skills that you didn’t know you had, and you will fit in with the team.