Jonny:British Universities Kayak Expedition to Venezuela
From CareersWiki
| Degree | Geography |
| Graduation date | 2012 |
| Company | British Universities Kayak Expedition (BUKE) to Venezuela |
| Finding the opportunity - How did you find out about it? |
I found out about it by reading about a previous BUKE expedition to Thailand. The opportunity comes up biennially where a team of 6 students from across the UK get selected to participate in an expedition which they must plan and carry out themselves. |
| Application Process |
After 3 years of training and getting to know other people who might be on the trip, I sent off a paper application listing my kayaking abilities and other personal qualities which would be useful to an expedition. |
| Selection Process | Luckily, I was chosen from the 50 applicants to attend the selection weekend with 19 others in North Wakes. We kayaked and did team building skills together to get to know each other. Then, on Sunday evening, we each voted for the 6 people that we would most like to go on an expedition with. I was fortunate enough to be one of the 6 to receive the highest number of votes, meaning I made it onto the expedition team. |
| Why you were successful |
There were 3 main reasons why I believe I was selected:
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| What skills/knowledge from your degree have you found particularly helpful in this role? |
We had to make a presentation at the selection event which I have done many times for my degree studies. Residential field trips offer me skills in living with friends away from home. Navigation and map reading was useful to find rivers and roads to get around.
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| What have you been doing? | The trip itself was amazing. We planned the whole thing from different ends of the country, which at times proved a challenge; we gained sponsorship from companies to get equipment and applied for money from various sources.
On the trip, we spent two months kayaking whitewater all over the country, spending time with the indigenous people and visiting amazing places that the average traveler wouldn’t see. I made five new friends and became a much more mature kayaker.
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| What are the main things you have gained from this experience? | I have learned so much about planning an expedition, from getting sponsors, applying for grants, to website design and itinerary planning.
On the trip I learned about how amazingly diverse Venezuela is, from the people to the geography. It was the first big expedition I have taken part in so I had to quickly learn what that was like; from living with five other people 24/7, to looking after my all of my equipment, some of which I might have to depend on to save my life. My patience improved, along with my ability to work as part of a group and not in a leadership role; also my ability to compromise on matters such as food and activities. The trip has given me so much experience and has made me want to help other people have that same experience. I would highly recommend travel to another country, but not on the tourist trail: go and do something a little bit different! |
