Kate Wojeck

Kate hails from Pennsylvania but calls Burlington, VT, home. A former Adventure Treks student (Kate attended four trips in the Pacific Northwest, California, and Alaska), she is returning AT for her second season as an instructor intern. At the University of Vermont, Kate works for the outing club’s leadership development programs. she has also worked as a field hockey coach for kids of all ages.

• Education: University of Vermont
• Certifications: Wilderness first responder
• Favorite outdoor memory: There are too many to name! The most meaningful would have to be the entirety of my first summer with Adventure Treks way back when I was 14 and stepped off the plane stumbling over my own feet. I connected so deeply and fully to myself, the community around me, and the outdoors in a way that shifted everything in how I related to my humanity and my surroundings. I stepped into myself fully for the first time. I can close my eyes and be right back in those moments where my cheeks ached from smiling so big, my ribs shook with laughter, and my eyes were glazed over in wonder. I never felt more myself than I did in those moments outside, wandering with those fellow wanders I met with so much joy.
• Favorite outdoor achievement: What comes to mind is rock climbing a multi-pitch at Castle Rock in Idaho. I was terrified and shaking but pushed through the discomfort of the unfamiliar and had the biggest smile on my face when I got back on the ground. My body felt ecstatic and buzzed with the confidence, strength, and awe of doing something I first hesitated in thinking I could.
• Favorite place you’ve traveled: The Pacific Northwest and Alaska
• Favorite hobbies: I love going on any and all outdoor adventures, dancing around, cooking, reading, writing, creating, movement, and cold swims.
• Best advice you’ve received: A close mentor once asked me “How is your soul feeling, Kate?” and though it’s not necessarily advice, it left me in awe of the power of meaningful questions and taught me to be intentional in seeking out how others are truly feeling and thinking, beyond life’s day to day often aimless inquiries. It’s shifted my lens on the depth of connection you can create and make others feel seen in all their humanity, just through questions.
• What do you hope to learn this summer? I hope to be present, connect authentically, and learn from the perspectives, stories and experiences of students, staff, and the landscapes we pass through. And to continue growing into and learning about myself as a human being.
• What are you most excited for this summer? I cannot wait to connect with lovely humans outside, and share in embodied experiences of the natural world and the distinctly magical AT community I love so much.