Leksi

Instructor

Leksi hails from North Carolina and still calls the NC mountains home today. Leksi attended three trips as an Adventure Treks student, including our Leadership Summit. While at App State, Leksi works as a teaching assistant for the outdoor recreation department; she also works ski patrol in the winters. She’s also worked as a counselor for a summer camp in North Carolina (where she attended as a child!).

Education

Appalachian State University, pursuing bachelor’s degree in recreation management and outdoor experiential education

Certifications

Wilderness first responder

Favorite hobbies

Hiking, backpacking, and music! I also like rock climbing with friends, hiking around the Blue Ridge Parkway, playing my bass guitar, drawing/art, and watching scary movies.

Favorite outdoor achievement

On my first-ever AT trip as a student, on California Challenge, we attempted to summit Mount Shasta. We had to wake up at 1 am to get a head start on the summit. A few of us ended up getting altitude sickness when we were only a few hundred feet from the top. One of the guides sat with us and gave us the best-tasting Starburst I had that entire summer. We watched the sunrise while we rested and eventually headed back down. Whenever I look back on this, I am reminded that I should always push myself to do hard things but need to recognize when to stop. One of my life goals is to return to Mount Shasta and complete the summit!

Favorite outdoor memory

There are too many to choose from!

Favorite place in the world

Selfoss, Iceland. It’s a historical site with amazing geology and braided rivers running throughout.

What are you most looking forward to this summer?

To meet new people and share the outdoors with them! I can’t wait to help students learn more about the outdoors, improve my own leadership skills, and make new memories.

Previous Adventure Treks trips include California Challenge, Alaska Expedition, Leadership Summit