Outdoor Pursuits Center brings adventure to Miami

Miami University Recreation offers many opportunities for students through intramural and club sports, a multi-use aquatic facility, numerous fitness classes and more. The Outdoor Pursuits Center (OPC) is a hidden gem within Miami Recreation, with experiences waiting for people of all ages.

OPC sits in the Rec Center basement, past the climbing wall and near the basketball courts. OPC Director Jen Siliko said their goal is to introduce everyone involved to new activities, equipment and education.

Siliko is a Miami alum who joined OPC after hearing about it at her first-year orientation. She said she participated in Venture Scouts as a high schooler, so the OPC aligned with her values.

“Actually, the Outdoor Pursuits Center was one of the main reasons I came to Miami,” Siliko said.

She said OPC offered similar experiences to those she’d had with Venture Scouts, and she wanted to keep doing them. Siliko worked with OPC throughout all four years of college and climbed the ladder after graduate school.

Siliko started out as a student employee and said she got a “boots on the ground” view of what OPC did at that time. She said at that time, OPC wasn’t really involved with academics.

Now, OPC offers not only academic courses for all students, but also has a living learning community (LLC). The Outdoor Pursuits LLC groups first-years into Porter Hall, a part of the Recreation and Wellness Neighborhood in South Quad.

Junior psychology major Liam McKernan, an OPC student employee, is a former Outdoor Pursuits LLC member. McKernan was first introduced to OPC through the Miami Bound Get Outside program.

According to the Miami Bound website, Get Outside connects first-year students who share passion for the outdoors while easing the transition into college life. McKernan said Get Outside gave incoming students the opportunity to choose between backpacking, biking and rock climbing experiences. He chose rock climbing.

“My first impression of OPC as a freshman was really great,” McKernan said. “The pre-semester program staff were really kind, welcoming and thoughtful people who wanted us to have a great experience.”

Growing up near a national park, McKernan said it was very important to find ways to stay outside while at Miami. He said OPC does a great job at providing opportunities for people to experience what Ohio has to offer.

McKernan works for OPC as a climbing wall attendant. He said he’s able to balance his school and work life easily with OPC because of their flexible hours and job opportunities.

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OPC provides students with experiences both on and off campus. On campus, students can access the climbing wall and equipment rentals, and OPC takes student-led trips to numerous places off campus.

McKernan joined a spring break student-led trip through OPC to southern Tennessee and north Georgia where the group completed a five day backpacking trip through the Big Frog Wilderness.

“Being able to do that for a relatively cheap cost really provided an excellent experience for me and everyone else on that trip,” he said.

OPC offers multiple adventure trips through the academic year. According to the Miami adventure trips website, four different adventure trips are scheduled for the 2027 fall semester: Kayak the Great Miami River, Harvest Moon Paddle, Ghosts and Gears Bike Tours and Fall Colors Backpacking at Red River Gorge.

The Oxford community can also join OPC through adventure trips and OPC Camps, which are designed for children ages 9-14. Shr-Shiang Moore, a Miami senior and Oxford resident, was first exposed to the OPC after his counselor recommended he apply for a job with the OPC in high school. After meeting with Bill Sparks, OPC associate director, Moore realized he’d actually met him before at OPC Camp.

“Turns out I’d actually met him when I was 11 years old,” Moore said. “He took me kayaking when I was 11 because I was a part of the early renditions of OPC Camp.”

He said OPC offers multiple different camps, including OPC Camp I, OPC Camp II and High Adventure Camp. These camps differ based on age group and difficulty level.

“Both OPC Camp I and II are basically an introduction to backpacking, wilderness survival, those kinds of things,” Moore said. “[Camp] has been so much fun, the kids went to Kings Island, they went ziplining and they went kayaking.”

Moore said working with the OPC through college has boosted his confidence and helped build connections at Miami. He said he was given a safe space to practice being a leader through public speaking and teaching activities.

“I think working at something like the OPC and with students who are anywhere from their freshman year to senior year really helps you, and it has really helped me feel more at home at Miami,” he said.

Siliko said working as the OPC director isn’t just a job to her. She takes her OPC experiences with her into her future endeavors, including those from her days as a Miami student and those as a group leader.

Siliko said even though incoming first-years play a big role in the OPC, people of any age and background are welcome to join classes and trips. She said the most important part of the OPC is building relationships off of common ground, fostering an appreciation for the outdoors and creating memorable experiences for everyone.

feeta@miamioh.edu