Meet our Vermont to Montreal Leaders!

ARIEL POTTERAriel Potter

World traveler Ariel Potter spends her time bouncing from one beautiful outdoor location to the next! Growing up in Yarmouth, Maine, Ariel’s passion for the outdoors was sparked at an early age by making the most of Maine’s varied seasons – from foliage walks with her close-knit family, to playing ice hockey in the winter, to soaking up the sunshine in the summer months along Maine’s beaches. From there, she traveled to a handful of other beautiful locations with her family: New Zealand, Ecuador, Tanzania, Switzerland, Egypt and Israel, to name a few. Despite this cross-continental journeying, her travel bug wasn’t satisfied so she headed south to spend time in the Dominican Republic. There she earned a certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language which she later put to good use, heading further south to teach English at a Bolivian university. She later returned to her Maine roots, working at a boatyard as a dockhand and putting her scuba diving certification to use in her spare time before heading west to start school at Colorado College, where she is currently a rising Junior majoring in Psychology. Despite all her travel, she has still made time to focus on two of the things she’s most passionate about: working with youth and outdoor education. She managed to merge the two when she spent last summer working at the Cape Eleuthera Island School, an institution in the Bahamas founded on the principles of sustainability, conservation, marine science and connection to place. At the Island School, Ariel assisted in running Educational Programs, an experience designed for high schoolers to come to the Bahamas and learn about the principles of the Island School firsthand. Apogee is thrilled to have Ariel on board this summer and give her another opportunity to blend her love of working with kids and the outdoors as she leads students north on Apogee’s Vermont to Montreal trips!

RED GIULIANO Red Guiliano

Red Giuliano comes to Apogee with citizenship in not just one, but three countries (USA, Italy & Switzerland)! Red spent the first 13 years of his life in Milan, Italy, with his American mother, Italian father, and younger brother. From there, Red moved to Portland, Oregon where he perfected his English before his mother’s work took the family to Manila, Philippines when Red was 16. Red was extremely active at his school, the International School of Manila, as well as in the local community. In Manila, he broke two school records while Captain of the track and field team, and out of the classroom (and off of the track) he spent time at the Philippine Institute for the Deaf working with students K-12 in to overcome communication challenges. Red also had an opportunity to work with kids between the ages of 7 and 16 when he taught basic English and Math to refugees at the ABS-CBN Eco Village, a center for families affected by the explosion of Mt. Pinatubo, a Philippine volcano. Red is a rising Junior at Cornell University and is majoring in Economics. When Red isn’t working on cost / benefit analysis, he is highly involved with Cornell Outdoor Education and Outdoor Odyssey, Cornell’s outdoor orientation program for incoming Freshmen. Red has lead numerous trips for students at Cornell, including multiple lake and river canoe camping trips as well as a 6-day canoe camping trip in the Adirondacks. Fluent in Italian, English and Spanish, Red looks forward to meeting his students and practicing un peu de Français on this summer’s Vermont to Montreal trips!

ANNA CLEMENTS Anna Clements

Newton, Massachusetts native Anna Clements joins the Apogee team with lots of stamps in her passport! Anna grew up exploring some of the most beautiful places in the world with her parents and two brothers, including Alaska, South Africa, and various European countries – strapped into their hiking boots. Combining her love for travel and service, Anna added another continent to her list when she took part in a teen service trip to Ecuador, where she and her fellow students built a school, developed trails, and cleared a hillside in an Amazon community. Back in the US, Anna has gained a tremendous amount of experience working with kids; she has been a counselor at a softball camp for girls in elementary and middle school, participated as a big sister in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and spent a summer working at a summer camp for girls in Vermont. Anna became camp’s resident Katniss Everdeen where she took on the role of archery instructor – planning weekly activities to hone the campers’ shooting accuracy in addition to teaching them leadership skills.  Anna developed her own leadership skills on a three-week wilderness leadership trip throughout Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah that included canoeing, hiking, community service. A rising Junior at Bates College, Anna not only plays on the Bobcats’ club ice hockey team but also makes time to give back in the local community. Anna assists with a homework help program for immigrant students at Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services, and provides SAT prep help as well as advice on crafting college essays to students at underprivileged high school students through Let’s Get Ready. A citizen of both the United States and Canada, Anna will get a chance to visit both on this year’s Vermont to Montreal trips!

CHANDLER SMITHChandler Smith

Proud denizen of Yarmouth, Maine, Chandler Smith is one of the most charismatic people we have ever met, and his love for traveling and working with kids makes him the perfect choice to lead Vermont to Montreal this summer! Although the Smith family ended up along the coast of Maine, Chandler, his three siblings and their parents have spent a fair amount of time living abroad. Along with extended stints in England and Poland, they called Melbourne, Australia home for six years where Chandler played cricket and quickly developed a hybrid American-Australian accent (which he has sadly since retired). Chandler is a well rounded outdoorsman, having completed a multi-day whitewater rafting trip, covered a variety of terrain in Scotland and the US, and he even spent two weeks camping, climbing glaciers, and hiking in New Zealand. A rising Junior at Colby College, Chander is very active on campus and is not only a member of Class Council and engaged in student government, but also serves as a peer mentor. Chandler gives back to the college by leading pre-orientation trips for incoming freshmen, and has gone beyond the boundaries of campus into the Waterville community by spending time as a youth mentor. Prior to Apogee, Chandler spent the last six summers splitting his time between serving as a camp counselor and coaching youth soccer (a job he’s well qualified for as a member of the semi-professional soccer team Portland Phoenix!). While athletics are a major part of Chandler’s life – he is both a member of the varsity Men’s Soccer team and Colby’s Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach – he is a passionate, self-described “shameless dancer.” We can’t wait to see his moves as he foxtrots north towards the Canadian border this summer!