A combat veteran and former computer-aided design (CAD) engineer, David Hicks, ’18, was living in Ely, Minnesota, with his wife and children while he was earning his degree in environmental and outdoor education at UMD. To save money during his commute to Duluth, he hammock-camped in a friend’s wooded backyard near Tischer Creek. Each morning, he woke to the chattering of squirrels and songbirds before packing away his belongings and walking to class.

“If you’re going to be an outdoor educator, you need to walk your walk,” he said, though he admits he was not a traditional student. “I ended up having over 300 days of winter camping experience as a graduate.”

Hicks now operates Cast Outdoor Adventures in Ely and spends the majority of the year on trail as a wilderness guide. He’s also dedicated to providing outdoor experiences for people with disabilities. “Working with this community has shown me what individuals are truly capable of,” he said.

With help from paraplegic Olympic gold medalist Ralph DeQuebec, Hicks built a dog sled that allows people with disabilities to operate independently. He also developed an adaptive sled dog program for paraplegic athletes, which has since expanded to serve a broader range of participants. Hicks is now collaborating with a North Dakota-based sled manufacturer to engineer his prototype and eventually train kennels nationwide to run adaptive dog‑sledding trips.

“I didn't go to school with the intention of running a dog sled program for the adaptive community,” Hicks said. In fact, providing tailored programming takes more time and more resources, but as he learned of the need, he decided “to step up.” It’s work that aligns with a motto he’s always tried to live by, to not cast judgement based on what you perceive a person is capable of.

“What I do on my dog sled trips is make room for people to be validated for who they are,” Hicks said. “It's pretty amazing how they respond.”