We are less than a month away from Leader Training, and we have only four more Apogee rockstars to introduce! Christian Edwards, Tim Murphy, and Garth Franklin will be traveling across deserts and oceans to support our trips this summer – Christian will be headed out on to Oregon, California, and our Pacific Coast trip, Tim will be following our America Coast to Coast crew from sea to shining sea, and Garth will cross the Atlantic to criss-cross six different countries in Europe to support our Europe Coast to Coast and Alps Explorer trips. And photo-phenom Garrett English is returning to us again this year to take pictures of it all! Let the adventures begin!

CHRISTIAN EDWARDS

Christian Edwards, a Georgia native and a 2014 Carleton College graduate, will be joining us this summer as support staff on the west coast for our Pacific Coast trip. At Carleton, Christian was a Religious Studies major, and is looking to attend a post-baccalaureate program next year in order to qualify for admission to medical school. Christian is the oldest of three, and has been competitively swimming since he was eight years old.  He has continued to swim through his four years at Carleton, where he was the Captain of the Varsity team. When Christian isn’t swimming, he enjoys competing in triathlons and rock climbing – he was on the Atlanta Rocks Youth Climbing team for four years! His adventurous-side does not stop there. Christian has also traveled extensively, through Cuba, Northern Ireland, Ecuador, and Rome.  We are thrilled to have Christian on board this summer, and the Apogee students out west will love getting to know him during their summer adventures.

TIM MURPHY

Tim Murphy is one of the most well-traveled and adventurous people you may come across, and this summer, he will be doing even more traveling as he supports our America Coast to Coast trip from Charleston to San Diego. Born and raised in Yarmouth, Maine, Tim left after graduating high school for the University of Colorado, where he played soccer and snowboarded (when he wasn’t studying, of course). After his first year, Tim decided to finish his degree even further away from Maine, and traveled to the University of Otago in New Zealand. There, he studied Spanish and made plenty of time to catch waves on his surf board and explore the country’s beautiful mountains and coastlines. Since graduating in 2010, Tim has continued to travel, meet new people, and explore his passions. He’s spent the past few years working in the production side of two different wineries in the summer and snowboarding in the winter in Oregon, as well as taking a few months to surf through Central America. After seven years away, Tim is now back in Maine working as a carpenter and photographer. He is looking forward to getting to know the awesome Apogee students he’ll support this summer, and to see some amazing parts of the country.

GARTH FRANKLIN

A Massachusetts native, 2013 graduate of Colby College, and Apogee legend – Garth Franklin feels most at home on the top of a mountain. Garth majored in Biochemistry at Colby, and played as a midfielder on Colby’s Varsity Lacrosse team. An avid hiker, skier, and rock-climber, Garth spent as much time as he could adventuring in the Maine wilderness on the weekends. Returning to Apogee for a third summer after leading our New England Mountains & Coast, Maine’s Downeast Explorer, Northwest Explorer, and Montana Service Adventure trips in 2012 and 2013, Garth brings a great deal of leadership experience to the European support position this summer. In addition to his summers with Apogee, Garth has led pre-orientation wilderness trips for incoming freshmen at Colby and worked in a summer camp-like setting at a country club near his hometown, where he was a lifeguard, swim lesson instructor, sports camp assistant and arts and crafts teacher. Since graduating, Garth spent his fall traveling throughout Southeast Asia, including Thailand and Vietnam, and his winter working and skiing in Utah. Outside of his interest in the outdoors and athletics, Garth has passions for woodworking, pottery and French, which we know he’ll share  with the Europe Coast to Coast groups this summer.

GARRETT ENGLISH

We are thrilled to welcome photographer-extraordinaire Garrett English back to Apogee this summer! Garrett was born and raised in Denver City in West Texas, and is a rising Junior at Bowdoin College. It’s hard to imagine two more different physical environments – Bowdoin is a leafy, bucolic small college in Maine and Denver City is located inside an oilfield – in fact, there is an oil well in Garrett’s backyard! Despite growing up in a brown, flat, and very hot hometown, Garrett was able to cultivate an appreciation for the outdoors, being just a few hours from the Sierra Blanca, Big Bend National Park, and Texas’ beautiful Guadalupe Mountains. Garrett also cultivated his artistic eye in Texas – Marfa, Texas, is one of Garrett’s favorite places and an artist’s paradise. Although Garrett loves spending time with his parents and two younger sisters in TEXAS, Garrett decided to come up to Bowdoin because it is just so different from where he grew up: tall trees, cool air, and plenty of water (and snow!). At Bowdoin, Garrett studies Math and Visual Arts, and is a Photography Teacher’s Assistant. He is also a photographer for the campus newspaper, the Bowdoin Orient. When Garrett isn’t in the darkroom, he enjoys hiking and casually playing the French Horn with friends.