Casey

Casey joins Adventure Treks from Colorado Springs, CO. Originally from Maywood, NJ, she attended school in Ithaca, NY. Most recently, Casey has worked as a substitute teacher and special education para-educator. She spent two summers leading youth trail crews for AmeriCorps conservation corps in Idaho, Oregon, and Colorado; she also worked on a chainsaw crew for women and non-binary people. Casey’s experience working with youth also extends to several seasons of leading canoeing, backpacking, and sailing expeditions with Outward Bound in Pennsylvania and the Florida Keys. While in college, Casey participated in a 77-day immersion semester program with Outward Bound, where she backpacked, rock climbed, whitewater rafted, and learned mountaineering skills in California and Oregon. She also worked at a primitive nature camp in New York.

• Education: Ithaca College; bachelor’s degree in outdoor adventure leadership
• Certifications: Wilderness first responder, crisis prevention intervention
• Favorite outdoor memory: There are too many to choose from, but a favorite is definitely summiting Quail Mountain in Joshua Tree National Park while on my immersion semester program [in college]. Everyone on my crew and my instructors carried up a rock in someone’s honor and it was a very beautiful moment.
• Favorite outdoor achievement: A moment I will always remember is when I was telling a 12-year-old Outward Bound student that I was proud of her after she used a communication tool my co-instructors and I taught our crew to express her feelings to another student. When I told her that I could never have done that when I was her age, she expressed to me that she thought that I was so good at everything and wanted to be just like me when I grew up. I reminded her that I have plenty of room to grow myself, but it made me realize that just like she was putting me on a pedestal, I put other people on a pedestal, and that just like I’m far from perfect, so are the people that seem “perfect” and “good at everything” to me. I’ll never forget that, and remember this every time it is tempting to view someone as being flawless or I want to compare myself to other people.
• Favorite place you’ve traveled: There are many, but Joshua Tree National Park will always have a special place in my heart. I spent about a month backpacking and rock climbing there while on ISP, and thinking back on those memories is always magical.
• Favorite hobbies: I love to read, write, go on walks and hikes, spend time with friends and family, go on adventures around my home and in new places, travel, and explore.
• What are you most excited for this summer? I’m looking forward to getting to know the students that I work with. Teenagers have a lot of cool knowledge and hobbies and experiences, and I really love learning from them and getting to know them. Building relationships is one of my favorite parts of outdoor education.