Charla first heard of NOLS while working her first summer in Alaska at a National Geographic Unique Lodge. In hopes to sign up for a Wilderness First Aid Course, Charla ended up applying to be a student in a Pacific Northwest semester during the fall of 2019. Little did she expect to be encouraged during her first section of her semester (backpacking and mountaineering) to apply to become a NOLS instructor. Charla then started her application process between her NOLS semester sections and in February 2020 she received an email to join the NOLS family. By her sixth month working for NOLS, Charla was asked to apply for a full-time position and is looking forward to working white water courses, sailing, canyoneering and mountaineering courses.