WOOT! gets new students outdoors for orientation

Western Washington University freshman Zach Becker produced, shot and edited this video entirely on his own during the WOOT! hiking trip in the Chuckanut foothills.

The WOOT! (Western Outdoor Orientation Trips) program, part of the Associated Students Outdoor Center and Student Outreach Services, allows incoming Western students to spend a week in the wilderness exploring their new backyard while getting to know other new students and gain great outdoor skills. Now in its third year, WOOT! takes place the week before the beginning of fall quarter.

Becker's only background in video production, he says, "is basically just watching a ton of YouTube videos as I was growing up, and creating them as well."

He taught himself the process of shooting and editing by making videos of himself pogo sticking or juggling (he used to get really bored in his hometown of Silt, Colo., he says).

This WOOT! video is just the second he's made in this style, he says, the first being an overview of a family vacation at Bay Lake in Minnesota.

Becker says he'd love to make a career of videography. Exactly how, though, he's not yet sure.

This year, 45 incoming freshmen took part in one of five six-day WOOT! excursions. Some went kayaking or bike touring in the San Juan Islands, others went rock climbing in Leavenworth, and more (Becker among them) backpacked through the Chuckanuts or the North Cascades.

All of the trips filled up within four hours after online registration opened, and many more were added to a waiting list.

For more information on the WOOT! program, contact program coordinator Marli Williams at (360) 650-7592 or marli.williams@wwu.edu.