Bonjour, mes amis! It’s Tuesday, the dogwoods are finally blooming up here in Maine (as a brief aside – the best thing about this late Spring has to be the lilacs still blooming in June up this way, but I digress…), and that combination means that it must be Leader Profile time. Today, we’re focused on the rock stars who will be leading the charge along Maine’s beautiful coast, through the great north woods, and up into the verdant fields of French Quebec on our Coast to Quebec trip. Read on!
Posie Holmes
Posie Holmes first embarked on Apogee’s Coast to Quebec trip as a student in 2006, and she’s thrilled to spend this summer once again pedaling along Maine’s beautiful coast and through the north woods to the green farmland of Quebec. Posie is a rising Junior at the University of Virginia, where she’s studying Pre-Commerce. At UVA, she plays club soccer on the school’s nationally ranked team, and serves as the club’s fundraising chair. In the winter, Posie works as a ski instructor for kids of all ages at Mount Sunapee, a resort not too far from her home in Concord, Massachusetts. Posie has worked with kids for many years now – as a ski instructor, a soccer coach, and as a freshman orientation leader for her high school. Posie is a seasoned bike-tourer and outdoor adventurer: she has bicycled from Amsterdam to Barcelona and considers Glacier National Park and the Swiss Alps to be among her favorite places in the world. Additionally, Posie is well-versed in the Wide World of Apogee, as she participated in three Apogee trips as a student: Northwest Explorer, Montana Service Adventure, and of course, Coast to Quebec. This summer’s Apogee groups are sure to find Posie to be a natural adventurer – and a masterful and enthusiastic camp cook. Posie is certified in CPR and First Aid.
Postyn Smith
Postyn Smith is a rising Junior at Williams College, where he’s studying Physics. A fun-loving native of both Baden, Austria, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, Postyn grew up exploring the wilderness around his home. He grew up in an outdoorsy family with an older brother to whom he’s very close. At home in Colorado, Postyn runs the trails at nearby mountains, rock climbs, bikes, and hikes frequently. In the winter, he skis both downhill and cross-country, and, indeed, was once a member of the USA National Snowshoe Team. At school, Postyn is an accomplished runner on Williams’ varsity cross-country team, and has worked as a pre-orientation trip leader for Williams’ incoming freshmen. With his family, Postyn has traveled through most of Europe and the US. He spent last summer hiking the five hundred fifty mile Camino de Santiago in Spain with his father, and before that spent two weeks hiking through Austria. Postyn was Captain of both his track and cross country teams in high school. Additionally, Postyn has worked as both a tutor and summer camp counselor in Colorado. Postyn is looking forward to sharing his trail stories with his Coast to Quebec groups this summer! Postyn is certified in Wilderness First Aid and CPR.
Ben Lester
Massachusetts’ own Ben Lester is a rising Junior at Colby College, studying Math and Spanish. A busy-body by nature, Ben is an avid runner and skier. Ben runs cross-country and track on Colby’s varsity teams, and spends as many winter weekends as he can skiing on Maine’s cold, snowy mountains. An Eagle Scout, Ben has had the opportunity to lead groups of all ages on outdoor adventure trips, hiking and backpacking through the areas near his home. Additionally, Ben has guided a group of scouts on a ten-day backpacking adventure through New Mexico’s Philmont Scout Ranch, and canoed the Allagash Wilderness Waterway on a week-long trip. At Colby, Ben has led pre-orientation outdoor adventure trips for incoming freshmen, and he’s also led winter orientation trips for freshmen who spend their first semester at Colby abroad, helping to facilitate their assimilation into Colby halfway through the year. He’s worked as a camp counselor for the last few summers, spending nearly all of every day outside, playing ultimate Frisbee, soccer, and sailing. Ben can’t wait to spend this summer again outside, bonding with groups of teenagers, and adventuring with them up the coast to Quebec! Ben is certified in Wilderness First Aid and CPR.
A San Francisco native, Elizabeth Leighton is a rising Junior at Colgate University, where she studies Biology and Environmental Studies. On campus, Elizabeth is a member of the Admissions Ambassador team, leading tours for prospective students and families. In addition, Elizabeth enjoys tutoring a 7th-grader at the Hamilton Central School in biology and history. When she is not in the library or traipsing through the snow in upstate New York, Elizabeth is on the soccer field playing for the Women’s Club Soccer team. Elizabeth works as the fundraising chair for the Breast Cancer Awareness Coalition at Colgate, an organization for which all proceeds go toward breast cancer research. On the weekends at Colgate, Elizabeth enjoys exploring the outdoors, backpacking, kayaking, white water rafting, or camping with friends and family. Elizabeth loves to travel, embracing local cultures and activities, and is excited to explore Maine and Quebec this coming summer. Every summer Elizabeth spends time in the Canadian wilderness with her family in New Brunswick, just across the Maine border, and she’s excited to spend this summer getting to know another part of Canada as she explores the boulevards under the Chateau Frontenac with her Coast to Quebec groups. Elizabeth is certified in First Aid and CPR.