Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Hello Anson! Welcome to Teen Treks!


Teen Treks welcomes another new leader--Anson Biller!
Hello out there! My name is Anson Biller, a native of Eastern Massachusetts, growing up about a ten minute drive from Walden Pond. Currently, however, I am in Ithaca, NY where I am tenting out at an ecovillage to follow through on a research grant, and playing guitar in the county's roots music scene [contra, old time, bluegrass]. I studied alternative education through NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, and am planning to become an elementary school teacher. I have a great interest in gardening and the outdoors. In particular, I am interested in designing a sustainable gardening program for students.
I have been fortunate to travel quite a bit - to Mexico, Brazil, the Czech Republic, and a swath of Western Europe, to name a few - and spent last summer bicycling with a friend from Boston, MA to San Francisco, CA. Our next tour together, one we're actually planning with a cyclist we met on the road, is to cycle down to Argentina and back. I am an Eagle Scout and frequent backpacker, and intend to bring this knowledge to the trip(s) I lead this summer.
I am looking forward to being a Teen Trek leader. Touring, in my opinion, is one of the best ways to travel, and better still when you do it with great people. This summer promises to be quite an adventure for us, and I'm excited to get out on the road.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Welcome back returning Leader, Dave Burnette!


Leader Dave Burnette returns to Teen Treks for a second summer of awesome trips!

My name is Dave Burnette. I am graduating this semester from SUNY Cortland with a degree in Therapeutic Recreation. I have been working in recreation for going on 5 years now, and am currently employed by the Cortland Family YMCA. I am also a volunteer firefighter and bunker (live-in firefighter), which I have also been doing for just about 5 years. When I am not crazy busy I love rock climbing, or anything adrenaline pumping, sky diving, SCUBA diving, trail running, mountain biking, backpacking, skiing, camping (roughing it style), you name it...and of course Teen Trekking! See ya on the Trek!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Welcome New Leader, the World-Traveling Nikki!


Hey guys! I'm Nikki, and I couldn't be more excited about joining Teen Treks for the summer! I'm trying to imagine what could be better than spending a summer reveling in the outdoors, creating fantastic memories, and most importantly, getting to meet and hang out with the awesome people I'm sure to meet. (So far, the only thing I've come up with is spending a summer tanning on a secret tropical island with Brett Favre, but he hasn't called me back ...) This is my second short-term gig following my graduation from the University of Wisconsin; I'm just coming off of eight months teaching English in China and traveling throughout Asia, where my degree in English was far less useful than my ability to pantomime basic needs. My travels were phenomenal, but the most important thing I've learned is that just haven't lived until you've belted out the Backstreet Boys in front of dozens of your wildly appreciative college-aged students. I could do a little re-enactment for you on the road sometime, but you might have to bribe me with spicy kung-pow chicken. You should just know how pumped I am about getting to hit the road with you guys; I think we can all look forward to doing a lot of learning, laughing, and Livin' this summer; I'll see you wherever there are adventures to be had!