Olivia Ritchie’s Love for the Outdoors

Olivia Ritchie's love for the outdoors and leading others led her to enrol in the Certificate IV in Outdoor Leadership at Box Hill Institute. She is also completing a traineeship with Baptist Camping Victoria at Camp Wilkin in Anglesea and is currently in her second year.

"Taking part in my Cert IV at Box Hill Institute has been an awesome experience; both practical and theory topics were enjoyable and useful for my job running programs with school groups and my customer service skills," said Olivia.

This year, Olivia will start hosting school and weekend groups. She said, "Being qualified with a Cert IV, I am now running canoe sessions with our groups as well as all our other activities at the camp, including high ropes, climbing wall, biking and more.”

As a second year trainee, Olivia is also looking forward to assisting the first-year trainees through the beginning of their traineeship program.

Due to COVID-19, Olivia completed the theoretical elements of her course online. However, she was able to do the practical elements in person, including her favourite experience, which was a trip to the Bogong High Plains. She said waking up every morning to a new adventure with a different difficult task each day was a lot of fun. "The views and terrain in the High Plains are some I will always remember," she said. 

Olivia is grateful for her fantastic teachers at Box Hill Institute. She said, “Andrew Watts is a phenomenal teacher, leader, and friend. Not only did he teach me, but he also took the time to get to know his students and walk through our outdoor recreation careers with us.  

"To be able to do my TAFE then apply it to my work life made work ten times easier and more enjoyable," she said.

Olivia is looking forward to the endless possibilities that the outdoor recreation field has for employment and leisure. She said, "I am excited to have responsibility for the running of programs with groups that come to our camp, and through this experience, I will develop many of my skills, verbally, physically, and emotionally."

Olivia said you will learn a lot about yourself while studying the Certificate IV in Outdoor Leadership and will feel rewarded at the end. She said, “It is exciting what a little bit of study can do to your life. It opens so many doors for your life to either kick-start passion again or begin your working career."

If you love to work hard and love the outdoors, the Certificate IV in Outdoor Leadership is an excellent place to start.