• serving in salida Junior Madalyn Van Eaton explored the Colorado mountains as a guide in Salida, Colorado. Fortwo summers, junior English major Madalyn Van Eaton guided several groups of high school students up a mountain for an organization called Wilderness Trek Expeditions. Van Eaton spent summer 2018 and 2019 in Salida, Colorado, while leading five- or six-day trips for nine weeks with only one day off in between. Growing up, she went on Trek as a camper twice, and she found a love for the experience. She knew many people in her life who served as guides over the years, and they encouraged her to apply for the position. Van Eaton ran to keep in shape throughout the year. Outside of cardiovascular conditioning, she said not much training went into preparing to work as a guide. "It's a weird thing; once you get out there, God just provides strength you didn't know you were capable of having," Van Eaton said. "I do try to run and be active throughout the year, but for the most part, once you get there, God provides us strength and endurance that you can have for the whole summer, which is really cool." Van Eaton said mountain guiding shaped her outlook on life and molded her into a better person. Junior Cameron Shappley, Van Eaton's boyfriend, said he saw the difference it made in her life. "The way she talked about it showed how it's been one of the greatest experiences that she's had; it helped her grow as a leader," Shappley said. "Leading the groups up the mountains and setting an example for them is a very hard thing to do. It was a lot of discipline, but it's very beneficial to her life, and that's been shown afterwards as well." During the Trek experience, the hikers had the chance to face physical and mental challenges while in the presence of God. Emily Gibbons, a fellow trek guide with Van Eaton, said individual growth and experience were different for each person, and she got to experience it all summer. "It has definitely shaped all of our lives in ways we couldn't have predicted," Gibbons said. "Getting to guide with Madalyn was so special because I've had the gift of watching her grow into her own strength and love for God and start to truly use her gifts to bless other people. Because of the nature of the job, we all consider each other family in the truest sense -- the most cle.ar picture of the body of Christ I've experienced to date." story by Grace Baker people 149
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