BonnerSprings.com

Outward is the direction sixth-grader Abby Ward will be headed during her upcoming summer vacation.

Ward was recently nominated by two of her teachers for a scholarship to an Outward Bound 10-day summer camp in Chesapeake Bay, Md. She was chosen as one of 24 students from Expeditionary Learning schools from across the United States.

"We wanted Abby to be nominated for this award because she would be very willing to go on an adventure and she loves the outdoors," said Katie Greenwood, Clark Middle School sixth-grade teacher, about why she and fellow sixth-grade teacher Kyle Razak nominated Abby.

The Outward Bound trip Abby will go on is a Mid-Atlantic wilderness experience in which students camp, hike, rock climb, repel and test their outdoor abilities. The camp couldn't be more appropriate for Abby, as she's a self-proclaimed "outside girl."

In her application following her nomination, Abby answered several short essay questions about herself and how the experience would affect her, but she mostly recounted stories and examples of her extreme love of being outside.

"Ever since I was little, Mom and Dad said that if they just put a sleeping bag outside in the summer that I could live outside," Ward said.

Since a young age, Abby has always wanted to be outside. What started as a way for her father to spend time with his three girls became a passion that has led her to climb mountains, canoe, bike 48 miles in two days, and climb a synthetic rock wall in 15 seconds at the Renaissance Fair just to name a few of her many experiences.

"Abby is motivated and excited to try different activities," Greenwood said. "I think it's an honor that they chose her out of all the candidates they had to look at and I think it was her excitement for the outdoors that did it."

Ward and her family take many summer vacations together in the wilderness. While she had a tough time deciding, Abby said her favorite outdoor activities were bike-riding, hiking and swimming in lakes.

"I don't know why I like it," she said. "It's just really fun to do."

Some of the family's favorite destinations and activities have been the Katy Bike Trail through Missouri, Bennett Springs State Park in Missouri for canoeing, trout fishing and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

As far as her Outward Bound trip - from June 28 to July 7 - is concerned, Abby said she was excited and couldn't wait to start. She said she was looking forward to all the activities, from ones that she's already done, such as rock climbing and then others she's never tried, such as zip-lining, which is a means of traversing via handheld pulley a cable suspended on an incline.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance," Abby said.

There are still several weeks before camp begins, so in the mean time, Ward is spending her days waiting for her new hiking boots to arrive, jumping on the trampoline and just being outside as much as she can. She said it felt "awesome" to be chosen and was looking forward to adding yet another adventure to her long list.

"I think this trip will push me to new limits," she said.

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