Olivia Bogard ’27: Finding Confidence Beyond Her Comfort Zone

This summer, Youth Programs campers had the opportunity to climb the indoor climbing tower. Some were excited, some were nervous and some were a little bit of both. But between the climbing holds and the campers was one person encouraging them to face their fears: Olivia Bogard ’27, an Outdoor Adventures shift worker.

“[Olivia] was really positive working with the kids,” said Michael Gonzalez ’19, climbing program coordinator. “When they said, ‘I’m scared,’ she replied with, ‘Yeah, it is scary, but doing scary stuff is really cool too, right?’” 

Bogard is a psychology major from Missouri City, Texas, who joined Outdoor Adventures without any experience in climbing or outdoor recreation. Like many students, Bogard was initially looking for a job, but first she had to make it through the interview process. 

“I was asked to do a one- to two-minute mini-teach, and I had previously worked at Aqua-Tots, so I did my little teaching lesson for the 3-year-olds on how to hold your breath for five seconds, and that was really awkward because I was like, ‘All right, everyone, make a bubble,’ and it was funny, but y’all were great,” Bogard said. 

Her personality made an impression during that interview. 

“Bogard just has this energy about her,” Gonzalez said. “I think she is a positive light in the work environment, and a lot of people gravitate toward that. So, it was really cool to see her step into the interview and think about what she could bring to the team.”

Staff members at Outdoor Adventures are trained primarily in customer service and risk management. In addition to opening and closing the Rental Center and climbing tower, Bogard answers phones, helps patrons with rental gear and serves as a belayer when needed. 

“This was my first campus job, and something that’s different with this from all of my other experience elsewhere is that this job requires a lot more communication than I was used to,” Bogard said. “Any other job I went to, I go to my shift, I leave and I’m done. This one teaches you how to communicate, how to check your emails [and] how to check your Teams messages.” 

Bogard joined Outdoor Adventures while the climbing tower was still under construction and underwent training before she could begin working at the tower. 

“I needed to know what holds were what, what the devices were and the knots and everything like that,” Bogard said. “Me having no knowledge about it at all, I’d be reading articles and taking notes and you had to do your homework coming in for training. I’ve never experienced this before.” 

Once Bogard learned the holds, devices and knots, she thought her training on the wall was complete. But little did she know, she would have to learn to climb as well. 

“I came in being like, ‘Oh, I’m just going to work at the Rental Center. If I work the climbing wall, I’m not going to have to get on the wall ever,’” Bogard said. “I think a lot of my coworkers came in with a lot of experience. So when I got hired, Michael would be in my ear all the time, being like, ‘You need to get on the wall.’”

Eventually, she followed her own advice by doing the scary thing and climbing the wall. Bogard also had the support of her supervisors, who welcomed her questions, pushed her to face her fears and helped her build confidence. 

“We work a lot on how to facilitate an experience for a climber who may be scared. You work with them. You meet them at a personal level,” Gonzalez said. “I said, ‘Olivia, you should get on the wall. Olivia, you should get on the wall.’ Then she sends me a message on Teams one day saying, ‘I climbed today and I crushed it,’ and I replied, ‘Yeah, you should be proud of yourself because doing scary things is cool.’” 

For Bogard, that support helped create a sense of belonging and community within Outdoor Adventures.

“You were never angry with me, and I think that helped me keep coming back to you with those questions,” Bogard said. “And that, in turn, relates to building community and doing things that you’re scared of [because] building that safe space at OA is really important because it’s going to help all of us be there for each other when we’re doing those scary things.”

Outside of Rec Sports, Bogard stays involved in several student organizations and plays in a band that performs at events across Bryan-College Station. She initially wanted a job with Outdoor Adventures because of its flexibility and convenience, but Rec Sports opened the door to new experiences and perspectives.

“Y’all really forced me to find the value in this job and find value in working because I came in wanting to climb and go camping more,” Bogard said. “I went alone with one of my friends to Big Bend and it’s really pushing me out there and wanting to do things that I wouldn’t have done without y’all.”

With only a year left before graduation, Bogard is preparing to take on more responsibility within Outdoor Adventures. This fall, she plans to help train incoming shift workers and share what she has learned.

“We want you to learn that communication,” Gonzalez said. “We want you to learn that accountability. We want you to learn adaptability. We want you to learn that asking questions is important. We want students to gain a lot of skills and develop as leaders and then hopefully pass that on to the next generation.”

Now, Bogard has the opportunity to offer incoming shift workers the same support and encouragement she received when she first joined Outdoor Adventures.