On the Fresno State campus, it's hard to miss the E.D.G.E. Challenge Ropes Course just west of the Henry Madden Library. In a grassy field, tall wooden beams protrude 25 to 50 feet from the ground with ropes and cables that interconnect each beam together. Since the early ’90s, the high-flying ropes course has challenged the mind and bodies of both campus and community members. But for now, the ropes course remains empty — a sign of the times, as COVID-19 put a stop to all activities on campus in mid-March.

Even though the in-person activities have come to a halt, the E.D.G.E. course is still taking flight online with interactive courses that participants can complete right in their own homes. Director Ryan Soares said the main component of the course is facilitating programming that teaches leadership, teamwork and collaborative skills — all facets that can also be learned in a virtual environment.

“We knew we had to reinvent the course and programming, and when speaking with our staff, we discovered that what we are really good at is driving home meaningful and purposeful discussion,” Soares said. “Although the ropes course is fun and exciting, the goal of it has always been to evoke conversations and connections among our participants. That’s really the strength of our program.”

Within just a few weeks, Soares and his staff converted several of these ropes course activities into an interactive virtual format, via Zoom.

“While we would never be able to recreate, you know, jumping off the top of the pole for a chicken, what we can do is recreate the discussion that would come from taking a leap of faith to having a difficult conversation with a colleague or a fellow student,” Soares said. “The thing that we're learning is that it takes a whole lot more time and energy to create an engaging virtual session than it did to create an engaging ropes course or challenge course setting.”

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