For students willing to take the challenge, an exciting kayaking trip lies ahead.

The Office of Campus Recreation at NIU is sponsoring the trip, as well as four training sessions for trip-goers.

The sessions are on Sept. 2, 9, 14 and 16 from 6 to 10 p.m. The trip is from Sept. 18 to 19. The full cost of the event, including the classes, is $85.

OCR’s coordinator of outdoor recreation, Ashley Sweda, is looking forward to the trip. “We will venture to the north woods of Wisconsin on the pristine rivers,” Sweda said. She said that in the past two years the trip has been very successful.

Learning to kayak, according to Sweda, is both a “physical and mental challenge.” However, she added that because everybody is facing the same challenge, “the camaraderie is very supportive and you meet lifelong friends.”

“If you don’t commit though, the rapids throw you over,” Sweda said.

Highlights of the trip, according to OCR’s Graduate Assistant Promotions & Marketing representative, Jeff Luckett, include the “adventure, experience and pleasure” that the trip provides.

Sweda said the trip back was also a highlight because “everybody is chatting and thinking of the accomplishment. We are all so proud that we learned something new and faced the challenge.”

All NIU students are welcome to join in the fun, but sign up quickly. There is only room for 10 students and sign-up is on a space-available basis. If spaces are not filled by NIU students, then non-students are allowed to participate. The fee for non-students is $106.25.