Check out what a bunch of our superstars leaders have been up to since their Apogee trips this summer!
It looks like PC’s Kate Lemly is the new handy-woman in town! Kate is currently working with AmeriCorps as a construction crew leader in New Orleans for Habitat for Humanity. She has been coordinating volunteers, and is getting plenty of hands-on experience. Side note – is that a skeleton hanging from the wood? Spooky.
CQ’s Mike Vercillo, a New York native, has new stomping grounds now – and they just so happen to be in the hills of Tuscany! Since September, Mike has been working as a Farm Intern for the Spannocchia Foundation in Tuscany. Mike’s Apogee students raved about his amazing cooking skills this summer, so we can’t even imagine the amazing Italian delicacies he is whipping up now!
NEMC’s Midge Cross, a Junior at Tufts University, is back on campus where she is balancing weekend adventures like completing presidential traverses with preparations for studying abroad in Ghana next semester. Right now she is working on a research project on the Shortfin Mako shark, and practicing for her fall Kiniwe show (the Ghanaian drumming group she is involved with!).
Apogee’s musical talent continues with CSA’s Will Robertson. Will is back in his home state of Minnesota where he recently started a freelance music composition and arranging business. On the side, he has been singing in a professional choir and coaching a cross country ski team at the local high school. Needless to say, Will is staying busy!
VM’s Abby Dalzell is spending her semester in Madagascar, and has recently taken a trip to a rural village where she got to interview traditional healers. On top of her studies, Abby has also enjoyed getting to know the local people and food. Here she is picking lychees, a tropical fruit we certainly didn’t have in our lunchboxes today!
NWX’s John Swords is definitely making a “splash” during his final year at Bowdoin. When he’s not playing basketball for Bowdoin’s team or working on his Senior Honors Thesis, you’re bound to find him exploring Maine’s wilderness. And John is nothing “short” of adventurous. At 7 feet tall, he’s even willing to attempt white water, stand-up paddle boarding (to ill effect, as you’ll see below…). Please forgive the puns.
CQ’s Emily Sherry, a recent Hamilton College graduate, has headed south to work with Outward Bound. Emily is living in Florida and working with OB’s At-Risk Youth program leading 20-28 day canoe trips and providing support to other trips. She has gotten to work with some amazing young people, and see alligators, manatees, dolphins, and monkeys (didn’t know they were Florida natives?)!
PC’s Matt Monahon is a recent transplant to our nation’s capital where he is now working for Federal Realty Investment Trust, a real estate development company. In his free time, he has been mountain biking and taking camping trips with friends in Virginia.
The adventure doesn’t stop! Here is CI’s Emily O’Connell doing the Y-M-C-A on a camel in Morocco (just kidding)! A Junior at William & Mary, Emily is currently studying abroad in Seville, Spain, and making plenty of time to travel, grow acquainted with the local customs, and even hike Spain’s beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains!
PC’s Jeanne Barthold is loving her Senior year at Colby! From school work to the slopes (Jeanne is one of Colby’s Ski Team Captains!), she is staying very busy. Although the majority of her time spent in the mountains will be on skis this winter, Jeanne made time to hike with friends through Maine and New Hampshire before it got too snowy. Here is a photo of Jeanne at the top of Katahdin this fall!
And then there’s Jack Messerly and Izzy Janzen! Both Apogee veterans and also 2014 Hamilton College graduates, Jack and Izzy are now in Boonville, CA where they have been spending their days milking goats, feeding chickens and pigs, herding sheep, and harvesting lots of vegetables in a community garden. Above is a selfie of their “evening commute.” Can’t imagine what their morning commute looks like!
ACC’s Ally Bolger just finished her second term at the Ecology School in Saco, Maine. Here is a photo from a day called “students’ choice” where the class decided to do “nature spa day!” She now has a couple of weeks off before heading to New Hampshire to work as a ski instructor. Ally has spent her free time this fall climbing Katahdin, exploring the White Mountains, and visiting Cape Cod.
CQ’s Pete Cutler, a notorious world-traveler, is looking fierce and enjoying a little bit of downtime as he recovers from shoulder surgery. But the second he’s healed up, he is off to Cameroon to join the Peace Corps. Rest up, Pete!
And then we have DEX’s Marino Leone. For those who do not know Marino, he is one of the most unique people out there! Here is a shot of Marino spinning a LED “poi” (don’t worry, we had to look it up, too). This past semester he has been running a club that spins LED poi, hula hoops, juggling balls, and flow staff. Additionally, he has been doing plenty of rock climbing as well as working with a psychology grad student at Cornell!
NE Support Super Hero Annika Nygren is finishing her fall semester of her Junior year at Amherst. At school, Annika had a successful field hockey season and made plenty of time to get outside, including a sunrise hike to Pioneer Valley! Even more exciting is her upcoming agenda – she is getting ready to spend four months in Madrid to study abroad in January! Buen viaje chica!
AX’s CC Gensheimer has switched out her hiking boots (at least during the work week) for more professional attire, and is taking DC by storm. CC is working at IBM as a financial consultant, and on the weekends has been exploring the city, trying new restaurants, and cooking up some delicious concoctions of her own! Your new office looks just like the Alps – right, CC?
A Junior at Hamilton College, Alex Doig may be the most active outdoorsman you’ve come across in a while. He has been actively whitewater kayaking, back-country telemark skiing, and he is planning to sea kayak off of Cape Cod Sound and Martha’s Vineyard over Thanksgiving. Oh yeah, and he is currently in the process of climbing all of the 46 high peaks in the Adirondacks – pictured above is Alex at the Summit of Giant Peak. Simply put, we’re impressed.
CMC’s Emma Perkinson (in a post-hike stretch) has been enjoying teaching middle school history at the Pine Cobble School in Williamstown, MA, as well as coaching a very fun and successful field hockey season this past fall! When not with her students, Emma has been exploring the wild Berkshire Mountains with her roommate and fellow Apogee leader Julie Levine!
ECC’s Christine Reighley is having a great semester back at Bentley University in Boston! This fall, Christine has loved not only embracing her love of cooking and photography, but also sailing; Christine is the president of Bentley’s sailing team, and she has spent the majority of her weekends at sailing regattas throughout the fall! Now that sailing is done for the season, Christine is getting excited for winter sports, including skiing and competitive snowball fights.
DEX’s Erin Leddy is a Senior at Bowdoin College, and an active member of the Outing Club. Erin has spent her semester hard at work, getting in plenty of time with her studies and pondering the future of what lies next (as so many college seniors do!). Still making time for fun, here is a photo of Erin on her birthday this year!
Since graduating from Bucknell University last spring, VM’s Reuben Atkatz has been busy traveling around the United States and embracing his love of the outdoors. After finishing up his summer in Vermont, Reuben and Apogee all-star, Pete Cutler (featured above), traveled cross-country from Maine to Washington state, taking pit-stops to visit friends and explore local sights. Reuben has recently moved out to Utah where he will be working and skiing for the winter!
