We are proud to introduce the leaders of the trip that needs no introduction – Alps Explorer. Apogee veterans (and might we add, rock-stars) Ally Bolger, Tim Hunt, Emma Perkinson, and Noah Randall will all find themselves in the shadow of the Matterhorn in just a few weeks. Between them, they’ll have 12 (!) Apogee seasons under their belts by the end of the summer. This summer, these members of the Apogee pantheon and their students will explore new languages and foods – and make great new amis as they hoof it through Switzerland, France and Italy!
ALLY BOLGER
Superstar Ally Bolger is back for her fourth consecutive summer with Apogee! Ally joined the Apogee team in 2012 as Support Staff, and went on to lead our Pacific Coast and America Coast to Coast trips over the next two summers. And this year, Ally is excited to hop off of her bike, strap on her backpack, and lace up her boots as she heads to the Alps! Ally is a New Jersey native with a serious passion for the outdoors. She was just a babe of eighteen months when her family took her on her first camping trip, a month-long road trip across several states. It was on this trip that Ally’s impressive state visit tally began (currently at 46), and since that first camping trip, Ally has traveled with her family all over the country, stopping to hike, kayak, and camp in National Parks on every journey. Her outdoorsy and adventurous upbringing fostered hobbies like alpine and Nordic skiing, cycling, kayaking, scuba diving, swimming, and, of course, hiking and backpacking. Ally graduated from Colby College in 2013, where she studied Russian and Geology. At Colby, Ally was an officer in the Outing Club and rowed on Colby’s varsity crew team. During a semester abroad in Nepal, Ally completed a two-week backpacking trek through the “Khumbu” – the stunning region surrounding Mount Everest. Ally has led pre-orientation backpacking trips for incoming freshmen at Colby, and worked as a camp counselor near her home in New Jersey. Since graduating from Colby, Ally has found the balance of work and play. Right after graduating, Ally and her twin sister cycled through Europe, and then spent the winter working on a local ski mountain. She then joined the staff of The Ecology School, an environmental education school in Maine, where she has been teaching for the past year. Ally cannot wait for another summer of great views, wonderful adventure, and incredible Apogee students as they traverse the Alps!
TIM HUNT
We are thrilled to welcome back Tim Hunt for his third summer with Apogee! Tim’s diverse interests range from hiking to cycling to white-water kayaking to Renaissance a cappella music – and they include pretty much everything in between. Tim hails from Oakland, California, where he was a member of the Pacific Boychoir Academy for eleven years. With this world-renowned choir, Tim toured through Italy, France, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa and China. Tim is a 2014 Bowdoin College graduate, where he double majored in Neuroscience and French. While at Bowdoin, Tim played trombone in the Jazz Combo, ran for both the Varsity Cross Country and Track teams, and satisfied his passion for the outdoors by spending weekends on skiing and hiking trips with the Outing Club. Tim also spent his Junior semester abroad in Paris, where he sang with the a cappella group he co-founded, and picked up useful French phrases such as “Yes, I am planning to eat both of those baguettes.” Needless to say, Tim is an experienced adventurer; last year Tim completed the Pacific Crest Trail, hiking 2,600 miles over a period of five months and is currently hiking the Appalachian Trail. He is hoping to finish the majority of the 2,200 miles before Apogee’s staff training! He’s an avid cyclist, both road and mountain, and loves to surf. Tim is looking forward to taking his love for hiking oversees, and sharing his love for the outdoors once again with his Apogee students this summer!
EMMA PERKINSON
Emma Perkinson is a third-year Apogee leader and a 2014 graduate of Bates College. At Bates, Emma studied History, and was highly involved around campus; she was a member of the Ultimate Frisbee team, the Outing Club, played intramural basketball, and was a tour guide for the Admissions Department. Emma studied in Australia for a semester of her Junior year. There, she she took classes and made plenty of time to hike and explore her majestic surroundings. Back on campus for her Senior year, Emma led a wilderness-oriented backpacking trip for incoming freshmen in Baxter State Park. This past year Emma has been working at a day and residential middle school in Williamstown where she taught history, coached field hockey and lacrosse, and organized, planned and led an Apogee-inspired school trip hiking and camping in Canyonlands and Arches National Park in southeastern Utah. Emma is headed to Memphis, Tennessee to teach high school history this fall – and she’s looking forward to leading outdoor education trips for her students. Emma loved leading trips for Apogee in New England and California, and she is very excited to return to Apogee this summer to lead our Alps Explorer in Europe!
NOAH RANDALL
Hailing from Medford, Massachusetts, Noah Randall is an Apogee veteran and a 2015 Colby College graduate. Noah comes from an outdoorsy family, and has three siblings (including younger brother and fellow Apogee leader, Freddy), all of whom grew up spending their summers at the small overnight summer camp that their parents ran in New Hampshire. Adventurous to a “T,” Noah spent his Junior spring in New Zealand where he went surfing, spear-fishing, backpacking, and even learned the traditional Maori dance (which he is happy to do for anyone who asks). Additionally, Noah has run three marathons (the first when he was sixteen!), played on Colby’s varsity Soccer team, and spent as many weekends as possible romping around the Maine wilderness with friends. Outside of his athletic endeavors at Colby, Noah studied Government, worked as an Area Resident Director, a position where he hired, trained and advised 50 Community Advisors and also served as an enthusiastic tour guide for the admissions department. After returning from New Zealand last summer, Noah worked in Colorado as a college counselor while also leading weekend trips around the beautiful Rockies at the Colorado Rocky Mountain School. Noah incredible spirit and enthusiasm are sure to be contagious as he and his Apogee students travel through the Alps this summer!