Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Supporting Student Wellness: Overcoming Challenges at New Heights

Tuesday, April 26, 2022, By Gabrielle Lake
Share
Barnes Center at The Archfacultyhealth and wellnessstaffStudents

Stepping out of comfort zones and facing challenges often results in personal growth, self-discovery and empowerment. We see this take shape as students navigate the rigors of the classroom and now with the pairing of the Barnes Center at The Arch Challenge Course and Zip Line opportunities, students can cultivate holistic health and wellness.

Syracuse University Zipline

Students enjoying the zip line experience.

Why is it important to encourage participation in the Challenge Course and Zip Line?
Skills learned through outdoor adventure, inclusive of the challenge course and zip line experiences, are transferable throughout students’ unique health and wellness journeys. When explored through the Barnes Center at The Arch Wellness Wheel, they encompass Emotional Wellness, Environmental Wellness, Intellectual Wellness, Physical Wellness and Social Wellness.

“Woven into daily interactions, these skills can be used to successfully navigate group projects and tasks while developing healthy, positive relationships with peers, colleagues, faculty, staff and future employers,” says Scott Catucci G ’21, Barnes Center at The Arch associate director for outdoor adventure, esports and student development.

Growth themes focus on reexamining how students relate to the people and places around them. Additional highlights include:

  • Effective communication
  • Cooperation
  • Resilience
  • Trust-building
Challenge Course

Students learn effective communication skills, cooperation, resiliency and more while participating in the University challenge course.

What is needed to participate in the challenge course and zip line?
Individual challenge course and zip line opportunities, along with group challenge course registration opportunities, are available throughout the end of the semester and into the summer months. Students are asked to register on the Wellness Portal. For registration instructions and more information visit the Wellness Portal Instruction webpage.

There is no additional cost to participate. Students are asked to wear closed-toe shoes, such as sneakers or boots, in addition to weather-appropriate attire, such as athletic gear. The health and wellness team will further support experiences through education, guidance and providing all other needed materials, such as a helmet and harness.

Where is the Outdoor Challenge Course and Zip Line?
Located on South Campus, the Outdoor Education Center, challenge course and zip line can be accessed using the Syracuse University Shuttle.

Are there other outdoor adventure opportunities?
Throughout the academic year, the Barnes Center at The Arch offers a variety of outdoor adventure experiences. Future offerings will be available on the Wellness Portal and the Syracuse University Event Calendar.

  • Zip line
  • Indoor/outdoor challenge courses
  • Outdoor adventure trips
  • Group challenge course reservations
  • Free outdoor equipment checkout
  • Adventure-based counseling series (offered per semester).

About the Supporting Student Wellness Series
Through a student-focused lens of integrated health and wellness, this series explores a variety of Barnes Center at The Arch resources and services. In the pursuit of enhancing the student experience, topics empower faculty, staff, students, families and supporters as catalysts of health and wellness within their daily interactions.

For more information or to request accommodations, visit the Outdoor Adventure webpage or call the Barnes Center at The Arch at 315.443.8000.

  • Author

Gabrielle Lake

  • Recent
  • NSF I-Corps Semiconductor and Microelectronics Free Virtual Course Being Offered
    Wednesday, July 16, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • Jianshun ‘Jensen’ Zhang Named Interim Department Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
    Wednesday, July 16, 2025, By Emma Ertinger
  • Traugott Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Bing Dong to Present at Prestigious AI Conference
    Wednesday, July 16, 2025, By Emma Ertinger
  • Lender Center Researcher Studies Veterans’ Post-Service Lives, Global Conflict Dynamics
    Tuesday, July 15, 2025, By Diane Stirling
  • Maxwell’s Robert Rubinstein Honored With 2025 Wasserstrom Prize for Graduate Teaching
    Tuesday, July 15, 2025, By News Staff

More In Campus & Community

Lender Center Researcher Studies Veterans’ Post-Service Lives, Global Conflict Dynamics

Corri Zoli ’91, G’93, G’04 was recently named a research associate of the Lender Center for Social Justice. She applies social science, law and public policy perspectives to problems of warfare, governance in modern human conflicts and the role of…

Maxwell’s Robert Rubinstein Honored With 2025 Wasserstrom Prize for Graduate Teaching

Robert Rubinstein, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and professor of international relations in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, is the recipient of the 2025 Wasserstrom Prize for Graduate Teaching. The prize is awarded annually to a faculty member…

National Ice Cream Day: We Tried Every Special at ’Cuse Scoops So You Don’t Have To

National Ice Cream Day is coming up on Sunday, July 20, and what better way to celebrate than with a brain freeze and a sugar rush? Armed with spoons and an unshakable sense of duty, members of the Syracuse University…

Message From Chief Student Experience Officer Allen W. Groves

Dear Members of the Orange Community: It is with profound sadness that I write to remember two members of our Syracuse University community, whose lives were cut short last Thursday when they were struck by a vehicle at the intersection…

Haowei Wang Named Maxwell School Scholar in U.S.-China/Asia Relations

Haowei Wang, assistant professor of sociology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, has been named the Yang Ni and Xiaoqing Li Scholar in U.S.-China/Asia Relations for the 2025-26 academic year. Wang’s one-year appointment began on July 1….

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.