The Creation of Origin

My name is Joseph Napolitan, and I am the founder of what I now call Origin Expeditions. My intention for the blog is to develop a platform with which others and myself can communicate developments within the organization, explore relevant topics, share stories and hold discussions amongst community members. With this particular post, I intend to share my story and how my idea for this program came to be.

This organization has been an ever-evolving idea in my mind since I completed my National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) semester in the autumn of 2010. In this way, the story of Origin Expeditions coming to be is the story of my journey. It is not without the connections, hardships, joy, and immersion in wild places that I would be who I am today, and in turn, this vision becoming a reality. As I progressed through what is arguably the most renowned wilderness education establishment in the country, I frequently entertained the notion of starting my own.

The following spring, my ambitions gained momentum when I was elected to be president of the Grand Valley State University Backpacking Club during the 2011/2012 year. With a plethora of resources at my disposal and a considerable population of motivated people willing to get involved, I had an opportunity to test my skills as a director of an outdoor program. My enthusiasm was at an all-time high, maybe even to a fault—my grade point average took a considerable dip as I spent many lectures pouring over topographic maps and planning trips.

The year was a considerable success with six backpacking trips, a skydiving adventure, a whitewater rafting trip, and countless other events. I could not have been more stoked about the outcome of my final year of higher education. As a member and leader in the backpacking club, I learned the most during my time at GVSU. There were plenty of lessons about professionalism for sure, and maybe a thing or two about logistics and hard decisions. However, the lesson I came to value the most was the potential of a robust and cohesive community.

A photograph of the Grand Valley State University Backpacking Club during a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains.

I tabled my ambitions to move forward with creating my wilderness program for quite some time after I graduated from college. As the years passed, I focused on my progression in becoming an expert in several disciplines of outdoor recreation, skiing in particular. As I expanded my skill sets, I realized that I formed the purest and most authentic relationships with others through these activities and time spent in the wilderness. Because of those relationships, I was able to dive even deeper into my passions and progression and eventually become who I am today. I have come to believe that building meaningful connections with others is just as important as personal optimization as I strive to achieve self-actualization.

With that in mind, I also wanted to make sure I avoided creating something overly contrived while I brainstormed this program. While working for other programs, I observed that while individuals were allowed to express themselves, relax, and have fun, they formed more outstanding bonds and had a more significant experience overall. It isn’t rigid parameters or overly contrived curriculum that inspires transformation and connection; it’s simply allowing people to be people without distractions. I have come to trust the power of wilderness to accomplish this on its own.

With what would become Origin Expeditions, I tried to design a program that included only the curriculum elements essential to ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience in the outdoors. These components include risk management, tactful communication, health, self-sufficiency, and mastery of physical skills required to accomplish tasks to survive. I designed Origin around the basic principles that are core to a cohesive society at its foundation—the rest is about having fun. 

While there are many steps ahead, most of which I'll cover in a subsequent blog post, I could not be happier to see Origin finally come to fruition after eight years of thinking about it. The sheer number of individuals who have offered encouragement and a helping hand in this process inspires hope—it brings things full circle as I can already see an incredible community beginning to form. I feel honored to be a part of what is to come. With much excitement, I write this first post, and I greatly look forward to sharing more as I proceed. 

Thanks for reading!