From starting her business in zip-line course building to being asked to create the Outdoor Recreational Science program, Sarah Schrader has accomplished a lot. 

Schrader started her zip-line course-building business in her basement in 2004. After 15 years of running the company, she wanted a change. Shrader based this on the saying, “Each person will have three careers in their lifetime.” After spending a summer mountain climbing and spending more time doing other outdoor activities, she ran into Tim Foster. 

“I started building the program in February 2020, but we launched it as a degree program in the fall of 2020. We really focused on preparing students for careers in the outdoor recreation industry, which is 2.2% of the national GDP and is $887 billion of consumer spending a year. So, it’s a vast industry, product manufacturing, like you know, everything from things we wear to stuff we use, then there’s also the whole service end of the industry, which is like professional guiding and outdoor education. Also, many students in the degree go into Public Lands Management, anything from being a park ranger to a scientist to working in fire managment on public lands. Now, over 118 students between the major and the minor.” said Schrader. 

Over three years ago, during the last year of former president Tim Foster’s term, Schrader was asked by him to help create a brand new major at Colorado Mesa University [CMU]. 

“[Foster] approached me and said, ‘we really need an outdoor rec degree program.’ All these businesses in the valley and Colorado need a skilled and talented workforce. And it’s exciting because I got to build the program with a lot of advice from other CEOs in the outdoor industry. We really wanted to make sure that students were well equipped are they graduate to become a professional guide or go become a park ranger or go into building their own business, from scratch, or go into ski or management or work in marketing and ski areas.” said Schrader. 

The program features some of the most interesting professors on campus. With the program’s growth recently, some have been hired full-time, and others are still adjunct professors. These professors literally have the outdoors as their classroom. 

Beloved by the students in the program when asked to descirbe her the only answer was “there is nothing I could say that represents or will be able to capture the light Sarah represents” said one of the students in her program. 

Which led to her eventual nomination for program director of the year. 

“I still have no idea who nominated me. […] It was such an honor. I got the email, and burst into tears. I’m just honored to be here with everybody. All the other wonderful nominees. When I won, I was shocked and unprepared. It was such a great event that the students put on, and it was so wonderfully done,” said Schrader.