Here is Gloria O’Neill’s sabbatical story. She first shared this in 2009, a year after her experience.

Pinnacle of time away: An adventure
to the top of one of the world’s tallest peaks

By Gloria O’Neill

I started my sabbatical on December 22nd while in the midst of a full schedule of holiday activities with my family. After Christmas, I traveled with my daughter Ravynn to northern Mexico, where we had a fabulous week hiking and spending one-on-one time together at Rancho La Puerta. This was when I truly began to relax and let go of work.

After returning home with Ravynn I only had three days to pack for Europe and Africa — not an easy task.  I’d been so engrossed with preparing to leave work for two months that I hadn’t carefully planned out the gear I would need to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro — one of the world’s tallest peaks. I grappled with the requirements for the extreme weather fluctuations I would encounter, ranging from the cold northern European winter to the hot African lowlands and the subzero high altitude conditions on the mountain. While this felt a little overwhelming, I managed to be somewhat prepared by the time I stepped on my flight out of Alaska.

My first stop was Amsterdam, which was my first time in the Netherlands. True to its reputation, I felt the city had an interesting laid back atmosphere.  I discovered fabulous bookstores and cafes where I sat and watched the lively city streets.  I became very fond of Dutch art, and the warmth of the real life portrayals in Dutch paintings.

Just as I was starting to overcome my jetlag, I headed to Tanzania.  Soon after arriving, I instantly felt as though I was in a different — almost wild — world. My first night of sleep was interrupted by the strange and unfamiliar sounds of animals. Soon, I was exploring the delightful and surprising mixtures of food, and getting to know the fourteen fellow United States travelers that I would spend the next two weeks with. I felt the group was evenly matched – there weren’t known extremists or near whackos in the mix. While climbing Kilimanjaro we became quite knowledgeable about one another, especially in how each of our bodies responded to the altitude. During our week on the mountain I sometimes felt that we knew a bit too much about one another. The lodging and food conditions on the mountain were adequate, despite the Third World conditions.

The pinnacle of my sabbatical was making it to the summit of Kilimanjaro. Through the challenge of altitude and exertion and the final overwhelming feeling of success, I learned that with small consistent and relentless steps, almost anything in life is possible. At one point my body felt like a robot with my mind, spirit and vision guiding the way. This experience reinforced for me the value and power of others in supporting our individual journey of success.

After returning to the lowlands we spent a week cruising the Ngorongoro Crater, the Serengeti, and Great Rift Valley. Sleeping in a tent, listening to lions in the middle of the night, and seeing a beautiful sleek cheetah and other African animals in daylight, gave me an invigorating sense of being free and alive. The most rewarding experience I had in the Serengeti was visiting a Massai village, learning how their traditional people live with their rich culture and nearly nothing else.

Amazingly, the experience got even better from there– after leaving Arsha, I traveled to Zanzibar Island by plane. The island reminded me of India, with the predominately Muslim population influenced by Arabic rule, exotic architecture and spiced food. It was a place of extremes– from very poor neighborhoods to opulent resorts, and a beautiful land haunted by the history of the slave trade. A long walk on the beach conjured up thoughts of what “old Hawaii” might have been with the traditional fisherman working as they did 200 years ago. “A less-than-perfect paradise” is the only phrase I can use to describe Zanzibar Island.

As my three weeks in Tanzania quickly came to a close, I found myself flying back to “civilization” again all too soon.  I started to realize how much I had fallen in love with the people and cultures of Africa, and how this experience so strongly resonated with my passion for rural Alaska Native life. The experience was both authentic and educational, and left me with more openness in my thoughts, some new perspectives, and more confidence in my values.

I returned to the Netherlands and United Kingdom for a few restful days before uneventfully making my way back to Alaska. Once home, I had two weeks of quality family time and backcountry skiing. I knew it was time to head back to work when at 5:00 a.m. one morning I found myself rearranging all the furniture and art in my house.

I am forever grateful to the Rasmuson Foundation, my board of directors and the hardworking, committed CITC staff for giving me this once in a lifetime opportunity. The perspective I have gained, combined with a feeling of renewed energy and deeper self confidence, will serve as some of the vital “gear” that I will take with me during the next phase of my professional journey – overcoming new obstacles, and realizing new achievements at CITC. I now know that it’s all about keeping the vision alive, drawing on the strength of my community, and putting one foot in front of the other in our journey together to develop the endless potential of Our People.