REACH students take to Lake Michigan

Sept. 2, 2017

Over the summer, a group of refugee youth from REACH, short for Refugee Education and Adventure Challenge, ventured onto Lake Michigan with kayaks in tow. REACH, a nonprofit created by the School for New Learning's Shana Wills, aims to provide refugee youth and their families with experiential learning opportunities focused on STEAM-related education and adventure sports, like canoeing, hiking and rock climbing. Its mission is to inspire leadership, academic success and connections among refugee youth through active dynamic learning outside the classroom.

Shana Wills (lower right), a DePaul adjunct professor and founder of the Refugee Education and Adventure Challenge (REACH), helps push her students towards the finish line during a relay race with kayaks on Lake Michigan in August. (DePaul University/Jamie Moncrief)

Laura Statesir, program director Chicago Adventure Therapy, shows a group of young refugees how to properly hold their kayak paddles before a paddling session at Montrose Beach in Chicago. (DePaul University/Jamie Moncrief)

Aspiring REACH peer leader Muntadher, 12, of Iraq, prepares for his first official paddling lesson on Lake Michigan. (DePaul University/Jamie Moncrief)

Young refugees howl with laughter as their friends topple in the water during a team building exercise at a kayak outing at Montrose Beach in Chicago. (DePaul Unversity/Jamie Moncrief)

Tobi Ballantine (left), a clinician with Chicago Adventure Therapy, helps the students learn how to right their kayak after tipping them over during a kayak outing at Montrose Beach in Chicago. (DePaul University/Jamie Moncrief)

Shana Wills, a DePaul adjunct professor and founder of REACH, keeps a watchful eye on her students as she leads them onto Lake Michigan in kayaks. (DePaul University/Jamie Moncrief)