Leap of Faith

Climb 30 feet up a log pole. Pull yourself up. Stand on a 12”x12” platform. Reach your arms wide. Declare your personal and professional goals. Say, “I commit!” Jump toward the trapeze-like bar—all the while trusting that your colleagues, friends or family will support you (and not let you fall). It’s a leap of faith.

Every step of Sarah Coumbe-Guida’s ’97 (special education) life journey has been a leap of faith. It’s no wonder the climactic element described above at her family’s Character Challenge Course in Park Rapids, Minn., is titled just that—Leap of Faith. 

Beach Front Summers

Sarah’s father took a leap of faith 35 years ago by leaving the hustle and bustle of a Twin Cities corporate career for an idyllic and picturesque life as owners of Minnesota’s Eagle Beach Resort in Park Rapids.

“She was only five when we moved here,” said her mom Jan Coumbe. “We put her in charge of getting everybody acquainted because at five you can't do much more than that. She’d bring 15 or 20 kids to the house so I could meet them all!”

It was an early start to what Sarah does best—encouraging, teaching and leading. She initiated kids programming at the resort when she was 12 years old. “It has really made our resort special because the people we bought from didn't have activities like that,” Jan said.

Early on, Sarah was drawn to kids with special needs, whether they were adopted, had behavior issues, or physical limitations. A feisty sense of humor made her a good teacher at directing craft projects, teaching water skiing or instilling life skills. A career in teaching seemed inevitable. 

Special Education

“MSUM was so good about participating in school practicums before declaring an education major to see if this is what you really want to do,” Sarah said. The psychology, sociology and behavior modification classes sealed the deal for a special education major with three licensures.

“I just love the fact that MSUM is a big enough college that you feel like there are options for everyone, and yet the professors are so good about taking the time to get to know you,” Sarah said. She embraced alternative teaching experiences, leadership positions, and volunteer service while a student, saying, “I had all sorts of amazing opportunities through college. There is passion laid upon all of our hearts and you just don’t know where those doors are going to take you,” Sarah said.

Denny Ulmer ’81 (MS special education), a retired director of special education at Bemidji Regional Interdistrict Council, recruited Sarah out of college to teach EBD special education at Cass Lake-Bena Elementary. Located on Leech Lake Indian Reservation, she worked with students in severe poverty who had never been off the reservation.
“She is probably one of the best teachers I ever hired,” he said.

He supported her interest in experiential learning and her desire to bring students to the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center to do the ropes course there.

“She made a tremendous impact on these kids by building strong parental relationships, primarily with families from the native community,” Ulmer said. “Many of her students owe a lot of their success to her and her teaching.”

Erica (Emilson) Johnsrud ’94 (elementary education) was a colleague of Sarah’s at Cass Lake-Bena. She describes Sarah as being equally supportive of staff and the children.

“She was so gifted at getting children to advocate and problem solve for themselves and helping them find their confidence and their voice instead of being dependent on other people,” Johnsrud said.

The simple act of putting kids 35 feet in the air to face their fears is an immense character builder.

“I love what the ropes course did. There are many things these kids can’t control, either their family situations or their disabilities. But there are many things you can teach them to control,” Sarah said. “Their attitudes, emotions, reactions, and dreams—you can help change those behaviors so they feel empowered to make positive changes in their lives.”

Family Foundations MN

The results were long lasting and impressive. She believed in it so much that she returned to Wolf Ridge and used the experiences to build on social skills lessons throughout the year.

Sarah and her husband, Travis Guida, who is also a teacher and a Bemidji State graduate, started dreaming about how they could integrate those experiences into a camp environment at their resort. Their passion for kids, teaching background, commitment to experiential learning, entrepreneurial spirit, strong faith, and the belief that God put this upon their hearts, inspired Family Foundations MN camp, founded in 2006. The camp is held at the family resort in early June and late August.

Johnsrud’s two adopted daughters have attended Family Foundations camp for the past four years. Her girls, ages 15 and 12, attended this year’s first-ever Camp of Champs, a two-week intensive experience that “really made a huge difference,” Johnsrud said. “They were there long enough to develop deeper relationships with other kids and to feel comfortable to let the walls and guards down and really hone in and help each kid as an individual with their specific needs. My girls have overcome fear, anxiety and the need to control. It’s been pretty amazing.”

It was originally developed for kids that were in the foster system or who were adopted. (Sarah and Travis adopted four children through the foster system; they are now 20, 16, 15 and 14, and they also have three birth children, a four-year-old and twin two-year-olds.) The character and social skills camp started with just eight kids and has expanded to serving more than 130 children with special needs ages seven to 18.

Challenging Course

A few years after the camps were underway, they “began researching and praying about opening a ropes course next to the resort,” Sarah said.

Today, their Character Challenge Course features low and high ropes elements, a challenge course, and hundreds of teambuilding activities for the children’s camps, resort guests, families and thrill seekers, and school, corporate and athletic teams. This year’s theme, “Fear Not,” exemplifies their quest to combine adrenaline, teamwork and challenges to help each individual reach their potential.

Hannah Johnson, a senior at University of Wisconsin-Stout, has worked at the resort, camp and ropes course for the past nine years and has seen the camp and ropes course grow from the ground up. Just like the camp and ropes participants, she, too, has gained confidence, improved her communication skills and has been pushed outside her comfort zone.

She describes Sarah and Travis as the “dynamic duo. They’re out to change people’s lives at the camps and ropes course. At the camps, kids find a comfortable place where they are loved and realize they can be successful. Many kids come back every summer,” Johnson said.

A highlight for Johnson is seeing people challenge themselves on the ropes course to step outside their comfort zone. “At the end of the day they’ve accomplished so much,” she said.

“I never could have imagined we would own a ropes course that positively changes people’s lives,” Sarah said. “I am so thankful for this journey that started with an education degree at Moorhead State. I have stayed on the path of education, which has now become character education. I have the best classroom ever. I am very thankful.”

Cancer patients have completed the course to cross off an item on their bucket list, wheelchair bound people have conquered the course using their arms, and people who are afraid to trust and believe have conquered their fears. Stories of success are abundant. The Character Challenge Course is well on its way to being the top resource for team building and adventure in Minnesota
Sarah gives credit to the people who come to learn and conquer.

“I believe the camp and the ropes course are vessels for families and kids to change their behavior and build their confidence. I feel so blessed that we are able to do this. It is a gift to us.”

This story was first published in Moorhead Magazine, Fall 2015.