Happy November, everybody! Today is the eve of Apogee’s 25th birthday (Apogee was founded on November 6, 2001), and we can’t think of a better way to cap off our 25th season celebration than with a special edition of Peak News that introduces the Apogee Hall of Fame! You might be asking yourself, “how do I get into this epic, exclusive club?” The Hall of Fame is our way of honoring students who have been on five or more Apogee trips. We’ve commissioned a special piece for our office that will hang on the wall, etching (literally) these Hall of Famers into Apogee immortality! Read on to meet one of the newest members of the Hall, as well as our one-and-only trip leader who made it into the club as a student (and then went on to lead for three additional Apogee summers!).
Also, if your Apogee Alum has done something cool or exciting recently (and we are sure that you have!), please send a blurb and photo to lucia@apogeeadventures.com. We love hearing from you!
Office Happenings:
Introduction to the Hall of Fame
Going on five Apogee trips is impressive, and we wanted to make a physical piece worthy of these awesome Apogee students! We came up with a plaque that will hang in our conference room, commemorating each “class” of the Hall of Fame. The “class” refers to the year in which the student completed their fifth Apogee trip. Click here for an online list of Apogee Hall of Famers.*
*Note: if you believe you (or your child) qualifies for the Hall of Fame but is not listed, please reach out to let us know! Our records before 2016 are not digital, and were much more challenging to review for Hall of Fame-eligible students.
Associate Director Miles measuring twice and drilling once to make sure the plaques look perfect!
We also wanted to mark the inaugural year of the Hall of Fame with a piece of custom swag for the newest Hall of Fame class. Starting this year, each Hall of Fame class will receive a custom piece of Apogee gear. This year’s swag? The iconic Apogee Five Panel hat, complete with the Hall of Fame class on the back, of course!
Student Feature:
Julia Gitelman
Julia (front right) and some of her friends on Maine Coast Junior all the way back in 2022!
Julia Gitelman is part of our newest Hall of Fame class – the class of 2026! She first came to Apogee on our Maine Coast Junior trip in 2022. Since then, she has completed four more trips with Apogee: Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, Golden State Adventure, Costa Rica Mountains and Coast, and, most recently, Alps Explorer. Julia will be joining us again in 2027 to take on her sixth adventure, Dolomites Explorer!
There are lots of things that keep Julia coming back to Apogee year after year, but the one thing that stands out most is the new friends she has met over the last five years. As Julia puts it, “My favorite thing about being an Apogee student is meeting new people and getting really close with them. Since the groups are small, everyone gets to know each other and becomes friends.”
Julia and her group on Colorado’s Rocky Mountains (left) and with some of her Apogee friends in California (right)
Over the course of her five years of adventures with Apogee, Julia has visited some pretty amazing places. She has hiked among the snowy peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, backpacked around the majestic Mont Blanc in the Swiss Alps, and ziplined over lush rainforests in Costa Rica. When asked about one of her favorite trip memories, she remembered her time surfing in the Pacific, on Costa Rica’s beautiful coastline: “The water was so clear and warm, and the line of palm trees along the beach was so pretty!”
The combination of meeting new and amazing people and seeing gorgeous places around the world is what stands out most to Julia about spending the past five summers with us. She explains that it is the combination of both the people and the places that makes Apogee special to her and keeps her coming back. As she puts it, “The people I meet are a big reason why I come back, but the activities I get to experience are amazing. Whether it was swimming in Costa Rica or having gelato in Switzerland, I always have a great time.”
Julia surfing in Costa Rica. Hang ten, Julia! 🤙
With her Hall of Fame pedigree, we figured Julia would have some pretty good perspective for either new students who are considering Apogee for the first time or alumni students thinking about returning for another summer. When asked what advice she would give to someone thinking about enrolling on an Apogee trip, she said, “If you are considering Apogee, I highly suggest you sign up! It gives you the chance to meet new people and visit gorgeous places.” Thanks for helping create five amazing trips of memories, Julia, and we hereby induct thee into the Apogee Hall of Fame!
Staff Feature
Jocie Funderburk
Jocie (in the middle with the sweet yellow sunglasses) and her group on Maine Coast Junior in 2015!
Jocie Funderburk is a member of the Hall of Fame class of 2019. After her time as a student (and a few years of college), she came back to lead for Apogee for three summers, making her the one and only student in the Hall of Fame who has also been a leader (so far, at least!). She first joined us on Maine Coast Junior in 2015. After tackling the coast of Maine, she traded in her hiking boots for a bike and completed our now-retired Cape Cod and the Islands, Montana Service Adventure, and America Coast to Coast trips. The trip that pushed her over the edge and into the club, you ask? Well, that would be the one and only epic ride across Europe: Europe Coast to Coast.
There were many things about being an Apogee student that were special to Jocie. She joined us for many summers on our bike touring trips and quickly learned that, in her words, “Exploring by bike and getting to go to new places with new people is the best way to see the world.”
But beyond the ability to explore cool places on two wheels, Jocie really enjoyed the challenge and accomplishment of a bike trip. As she puts it, “I liked being challenged and having to problem-solve to overcome those challenges. Sometimes it maybe was not something I appreciated in the moment, but looking back on the trips I did as a student, they helped me grow so much, and I am so grateful for that.”
Jocie (fifth from the right) and her group on a beautiful summer day in Cape Cod in 2016
Jocie came back year after year for the chance to explore cool places on a bike, but even more than that, she came back for the people she was able to meet along the way. Jocie explains, “I kept coming back to Apogee because of the community! I made so many friends and love the ‘Apo-fam’. The community and friends I made kept me coming back!”
Across all of her trips, her time in Montana (her home state!) really stood out to her. She remembers not only being impacted by the places she was able to travel to on her bike, but also by the impact her leader had on her as a student. Jocie explains:
“It was my leader on Montana Service Adventure in 2017 who I really looked up to that made me want to work for Apogee and pursue a career in outdoor education in general. I had such an incredible time on that trip (it was the first time I remember crying tears of joy because of how beautiful the scenery was and how proud of myself I was). I left that trip feeling super empowered and wanting to help others have that same feeling. Ultimately, it was that trip that led me to want to work for Apogee and get a degree in Outdoor Leadership!”
Several years later, Jocie joined our team, leading Vermont to Montreal for her first trip on the staff side of the aisle!
Jocie in Montana in 2017 (left) and on America Coast to Coast in 2018 (right)
The transition from student to leader is one that many of our Apogee students-turned-leaders talk about. It is a chance to take the Apogee magic you felt as a kid and bring it to life for current students. Jocie noted that it was “super interesting to learn the logistics and work that goes behind an Apogee trip as a leader. It also was amazing to bring the experience of being a student on one of the trips into my leadership. I felt like I could understand my campers better and help them have a better experience because I knew what it was like to be in their shoes.”
She also had the chance to lead a trip that she had done as a student. This stood out to her because she was able to quite literally follow the same path she had traveled as a student, now as the once calling all the shots. Jocie explains, “I especially loved redoing ECC as a leader and getting to revisit the places I had so many memories of from when I did the trip as a student.” What an awesome experience!
Jocie joined us for a total of eight summers: five as a student and three as a leader. Her advice to anyone thinking about joining us for a trip is simple: “DO IT. Apogee trips are life-changing, incredible, and so much freaking fun. It is so worth it—you won’t regret it!”
We feel so lucky to have Jocie as a part of our community, paving a path for many other Hall of Famers to follow in her footsteps: going from a student to a leader and coming back year after year for adventures, friendships, and fun. Jocie, we hereby dub thee an Apogee Hall of Famer!
Jocie on Alps day during Europe Coast to Coast as a student in 2019 (left) and as a leader in 2025 (right)
