Meet Your Trip Leaders!
Meet Ashlyn!
Ashlyn is from West Hartford, Connecticut where she grew up playing soccer and lacrosse and later ran cross country in high school. Some of her favorite childhood memories are attending summer camp, where she later worked as a counselor and is what initially sparked her love of the outdoors!Ashlyn attended Fairfield University where she majored in Psychology and minored in Health Studies. During her time in college, Ashlyn conducted research, completed an internship working with individuals with severe mental illness, and was a Tour Ambassador and Senior Fellow for the Office of Admissions. She graduated in the class of 2022 Summa Cum Laude, was the recipient of the Psychology Department Award, and was inducted into 3 honors societies.
After graduation, Ashlyn decided to take the opportunity to travel and spent a summer in Cape Town, South Africa with an internship in an adolescent inpatient mental health clinic. Afterwards, Ashlyn went on to live and work in Costa Rica as a TEFL-certified ESL teacher for 8 months, which included exploring other parts of Central America as well. Ashlyn has just returned from a 6 month backpacking trip in South America where she spent many days hiking, exploring the outdoors, experiencing new cultures and meeting people from all over the world! When she is not on the move, Ashlyn loves to go for long runs, hike, cook and try new coffee shops.
Ashlyn is so excited to share her love for travel and the outdoors with students this summer. She has seen so much personal development in herself through exploring new places and hopes to inspire the same growth and passion in others!
Meet Sam!
Sam is originally from Portland, Oregon. He is heading into his senior year at Gonzaga University where he is pursuing a degree in Business with a Marketing concentration. Growing up, Sam played basketball, baseball, and golf, and continues to jump back into these sports whenever he has the chance. Now, Sam spends most of his free time fly fishing on the rivers of the West. He is the co-leader of the Gonzaga University Fly Fishing Club where he organizes fishing trips and facilitates casting seminars for undergrad students.
This will be Sam’s fourth summer with Wilderness Adventures, third as a Trip Leader. What keeps Sam coming back each summer is the joy he gets from watching students engage with the outdoors. Sam’s goal this summer is to create an unforgettable experience for his students to leave them with lifelong memories. He can’t wait to hit the trail soon!
Meet Rosie!
Rosie was born in Chicago, Illinois, and her family moved around quite a bit before settling down in the Bay Area of California. Rosie has been a part of the WA community for the previous three summers as a student and is looking forward to now being a part of the staff team! She believes in the impact Wilderness Adventures trips have on students and is a big advocate for all students interested in the outdoors to participate!
Rosie currently attends the University of California, Santa Cruz where she is majoring in Literature with an emphasis on Creative Writing. She loves going to school in the forest and feels very blessed to also have the beach just a ten-minute bike ride away- the best of both worlds! When she is not attending class or adventuring outside, Rosie loves to read, write, draw, roller skate, and make music. After she graduates, Rosie hopes to spend a couple of years working on restoration projects in the National Parks and also spend some time exploring photojournalism. Rosie’s goals for this coming summer with WA are to grow her skill set, grow her community, and help her students foster positive relationships with nature. She hopes to teach her students how to tie knots, make yummy meals, and overall have a blast all while experiencing the marvels of the natural world around them!