We are thrilled to introduce our first set of new Apogee leaders – though you wouldn’t know that it’s their first years working with based on how cool and impressive they are. Learn all about our New England Mountains & Coast, Maine Coast Junior, and Maine Coast Photo leaders below!
Leader Name: Andrew Morse (he/him)
2023 Trips: New England Mountains and Coast and Maine Coast Junior
Hometown: New Canaan, Connecticut
School: Washington and Lee University, Class of 2024
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, CPR, Lifeguard
Highlight of the past year: Andrew is an outdoor trip leader at W&L and one of his favorite adventures this year was a five-day backpacking trip along the Appalachian Trail!
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Skiing, camping (of course!), and kayaking
Where you can find Andrew when he isn’t sleeping in a tent: Probably propped up somewhere with a good book or fly fishing!
Some super fun facts about Andrew: This last year, Andrew skied five different mountains across three different states. He also works at the rock climbing wall on campus teaching other students about climbing, and he volunteers as a Peer Counselor, helping incoming first-years to transition into college life. Andrew has also worked as a camp counselor and was president of his community service club in high school.
Leader Name: Brianna Dechet (she/her)
2023 Trips: New England Mountains and Coast and Maine Coast Junior
Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
School: Williams College, Class of 2026
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, CPR, Lifeguard
Highlights of the past year: Brianna’s favorite part of this winter was backcountry skiing in Tahoe, California, with her dad and brand new puppy!
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Backpacking, hiking, climbing, skiing, and jumping in freezing lakes and rivers!
Where you can find Brianna when she isn’t actively cold plunging: Hanging out with her dogs, going to concerts, and putting in her best attempt to crochet and embroider.
More proof that Brianna is the absolute coolest: She spent a semester mountaineering and sea kayaking in Patagonia (we’re definitely jealous!). Get this: In addition to English, Brianna is also fluent in Spanish and German and has studied American Sign Language for five years, where she volunteered as a camp counselor for the Jean Massieu School of the Deaf for one summer! At Williams, Brianna works as a ski instructor, and spent another summer guiding backpacking trips in the Pacific Northwest.
Leader Name: Floyd Cornett (she/her)
2023 Trips: New England Mountains and Coast and Maine Coast Junior
Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
School: University of Virginia, Class of 2023
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, CPR, Lifeguard
Highlights of 2023: Floyd was lucky enough to spend six months living and studying in the Himalayas!
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Laying blissfully in the sun, creating things, and listening to music
Where you can find Floyd when she isn’t soaking in the sun: She can be found eating a pound of cheese in a single sitting (we’re not sure if we should be impressed or concerned) or swimming, which she did competitively for many years.
More proof that Floyd is the most fun: Floyd captained her 150-person swim team in high school before competing in Division-1 swimming at Pennsylvania State University for one year. Throughout her swimming career, she also coached and taught lessons for four summers. She also worked hard to learn the Nepali language while in the Himalayas last year and is so looking forward to “being outside and silly with lovely people!”
Leader Name: Benna McDermott (she/her)
2023 Trips: New England Mountains and Coast and Maine Coast Junior
Hometown: Hastings on Hudson, New York
School: Dartmouth College, Class of 2026
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, LIfeguard, and CPR
Highlights of the past year: Benna took a gap year after high school and before Dartmouth where she lived in Guatemala for three months!
Where you can find Benna when she isn’t practicing her Spanish: Benna loves all games (board and card games alike), trying every flavor of ice cream she can get her hands on, and hanging out with her cat.
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Skiing, running, hiking, camping
Other reasons Benna is the absolute coolest: After spending a semester backpacking, sea kayaking, and sleeping under the stars in Mexico last year, Benna spent this year working with the Outdoor Leadership Experience at the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact – that means she spent time each week teaching outdoor activities to students from a rural poverty background. Also at Dartmouth, she’s a ski patroller and a leader on the Triathlon Team! We can’t forget to mention that Benna attended three trips as an Apogee student (Vermont to Montreal, Pacific Coast, and Europe Coast to Coast) and is so excited to share that experience with students – and make brownie scrambles on a camp stove!
Leader Name: Eleanor Wefing (she/her) 
2023 Trips: New England Mountains & Coast and Maine Coast Junior
Hometown: Wilmette, Illinois
School: Hamilton College, Class of 2023
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, Lifeguard, and CPR
Highlights from the past year: Eleanor is hard-pressed to pick a favorite moment from the last year and is torn between trekking to Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal and rock climbing in Pisgah National Forest!
Favorite Outdoor Activities: The classics: hiking and biking!
Where you can find Eleanor when she isn’t traversing the world: Organizing volunteering opportunities at Hamilton as the Senior Advisor to the Community Outreach and Opportunity Project, doing some more volunteering of her own on the slopes as an adaptive ski instructor, or teaching herself how to unicycle!
Other reasons Eleanor is awesome: In addition to working as a camp counselor and high ropes Director at another summer program for two summers, Eleanor also tutors elementary and middle schoolers, and she leads orientation trips at Hamilton – so you know she can do it all! Eleanor also worked on a farm as a horseback riding instructor for folks with disabilities and spent a semester studying abroad in Stockholm, Sweden.
Leader Name: Owen Sullivan (he/him)
2023 Trips: New England Mountains and Coast and Maine Coast Junior
Hometown: Winchester, Massachusetts
School: Colgate University, Class of 2024
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, CPR, Lifeguard
Highlights of the past year: Owen had an amazing road trip from Boston to Miami last year and managed to squeeze in visits to eleven different cities!
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Hiking, playing basketball, and swimming
Where you can find Owen when he is not on the basketball court: Exercising his brain instead, usually either by playing chess, reading, or memorizing NBA statistics
Other reasons Owen is the absolute coolest: Owen has coached and taught tennis for the last five years, working with both kids and adults. In a separate role, he also spent three years teaching tennis to students on the autism spectrum, which included attending the Special Olympics each year with them! Owen also had the opportunity to study abroad in Sydney, Australia this year and travel extensively throughout Asia afterwards.
Leader Name: Gabe Beck (he/him) 
2023 Trips: New England Mountains & Coast and Maine Coast Photo
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
School: Western Washington University, Class of 2020
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, CPR, Lifeguard
Highlights of the last year: Gabe thoroughly enjoyed exploring the Bellingham, Washington, area over this last year, but he also made time to take a trip to visit friends on Oahu in Hawaii!
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Day hikes, long walks, and biking
Where you can find Gabe when he is not exploring outside: Often in the kitchen – Gabe loves cooking and baking! Otherwise, he loves board games, reading some good fiction, and writing. But no matter where he is, Gabe is always ready to burst into song. Karaoke is his jam!
Other reasons Gabe is simply the best: Gabe makes his own ice cream (yum!) and spent the last two years volunteering with AmeriCorps teaching gardening and cooking lessons to elementary school students throughout Bellingham! At Western Washington, Gabe ran a mentorship program that connected university students with local high schoolers, and he also spent a summer working at an urban farm camp in Portland, Oregon! We’re excited to see what Gabe cooks up this summer…
Leader Name: Masha Lourie (she/her)
2023 Trips: New England Mountains and Coast and Maine Coast Photo
Hometown: Canton, Massachusetts
School: Master’s at University of Lisbon, Class of 2023
Certifications: Wilderness First Aid, Lifeguard & CPR
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Rock climbing and free diving
Highlight of the past year: Masha spent seven months of the last year living on a tiny island in the Seychelles (off East Africa in the Indian Ocean!) researching reef sharks – the island had a total population of only 30 people!
Where you can find Masha when she isn’t in the ocean: Going camping with friends, reading, painting, or teaching capoeira – a Brazilian dance-like martial art – to kindergarteners!
We would need a few more pages to list all of Masha’s fun facts, but here are a few: Masha speaks four (four!) languages: English and Russian are her native languages, and she also speaks Italian and Portuguese after receiving her B.S. in Italy and recently completing her Masters of Marine Sciences in Portugal. Masha has tons of experience working with kids, too, from working as an English tutor to coaching rock climbing and gymnastics. Now, Lisbon is Masha’s new homebase!
Leader Name: Sophie Blumberg (she/her)
2023 Trips: New England Mountains & Coast and Maine Coast Photo
Hometown: Newton, Massachusetts
School: Skidmore College, Class of 2025
Certifications: Wilderness First Responder, EMT, CPR, Lifeguard
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Hiking, kayaking, biking, and running!
Highlights of the past year: Sophie and her family did a cross country road trip this last year with a culminating camping trip in Grand Teton National Park!
Where you can find Sophie when she is not road tripping: Leading hikes for Skidmore’s Outing Club, playing with her dog, or reading in a hammock.
Other reasons Sophie is the niftiest: Sophie is currently learning both Spanish and American Sign Language and has worked as a tutor, preschool teacher, and mentor through a “Best Buddies” program. In addition to working as a Trip Leader with Skidmore’s Outing Club, Sophie also serves as the gear shed manager and a member of the Executive Board. We can’t forget to mention that Sophie is a four-time Apogee participant herself: Maine’s Downeast Explorer, California Mountains and Coast, Costa Rica Mountains and Coast, and Pyrenees Mountains and Coast! Sophie is so excited to share her Apogee experience with her students – especially doing “Apogees and Perigees” each night!