More Leader Bios! Meet Donovan, Morgan, Liam, and Tess!

What’s that I hear?
It’s more leader bios – hip, cheer!
So as to no longer keep you all waiting,
I present to you more leaders – they’re fascinating!

Donovan Fiore – Vermont to Montreal

Donovan Fiore enjoys exercising creativity whenever possible and has accordingly picked up a unique set of hobbies. In addition to wood carving, wood burning, lamp building, painting, and singing, Donovan also plays the guitar, electric bass, banjo, piano, mandolin, ukulele, cajon, and harmonica – wow! Outdoors, Donovan enjoys running, hiking, and mountain biking. He has explored the outdoors of Kauai, Four Peaks in Arizona, Zion National Park in Utah, and the Everglades in Florida. Still, he hopes to someday travel to the black-sand beaches of Iceland and the Kangaroo Bay Wildlife Preserve in Australia. Donovan loves working with kids and young adults and has plenty experience serving in leadership roles: throughout high school, he was a leader in his school’s mentoring program and men’s choir, taught guitar to middle school students, and was the Varsity Captain of the Soccer and Track & Field Teams. Now a rising junior at Washington and Lee University pursuing a double major in Business Administration and Psychology, Donovan is WLU’s first sophomore Track & Field Captain, serves as a Resident Adviser, and leads Sunday Night Worship weekly. We can’t wait to have Donovan join our team of talented leaders this summer and to hear his musical talents riding all the way from Vermont to Montréal!

Morgan Pratt – Vermont to Montreal

We’re thrilled to welcome Morgan Pratt to Apogee as a leader for our Vermont to Montréal trip this summer! Morgan grew up in New Haven, Vermont surrounded by bountiful outdoor opportunities. In addition to canoeing, fly fishing, and playing classical piano, Morgan loves hiking, road biking, and attending musical theater performances with her family. As a rising junior at St. Lawrence University majoring in Communications, Morgan is a Community Mentor for the Community Based Learning Program (CBL). As such, she works regularly with the students in the afterschool program at St. Mary’s School and is also in charge of the Canton Day Care CBL. At St. Lawrence, Morgan is a co-leader of the Disability Advocacy Group, which strives to make SLU’s campus more accessible for people with physical and mental disabilities. Having attended a summer canoe camp for seven consecutive years growing up, Morgan can’t wait to share her passion for the outdoors with her Apogee students this year!

Liam Donoghue – Vermont to Montreal

Liam Donoghue is a rising senior at Franklin & Marshall College studying Environmental Studies and Business. He has had an appreciation for the outdoors since childhood and grew up playing a variety of sports including football, basketball, golf, baseball, and lacrosse. Growing up, Liam would also enjoy going on day hikes with friends during the summers he spent in New Hampshire. Liam spent his last summer abroad in Australia studying marine biology, marketing, and earth systems. He has also completed a semester-long course with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), where he spent eighty days in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest learning skills in backpacking, rock climbing, glacier mountaineering, keelboat sailing, and wilderness first aid. Liam has enjoyed working with kids since he was in high school. During his sophomore year, he began volunteering for The Challenger Program, an organization that pairs high school student mentors with children with mental or physical disabilities to help them play various sports. Through the program, Liam developed lifelong friendships with his former mentees and continues to stay in touch with them today. At Franklin & Marshall, Liam is is a Spring Student Admit Orientation Leader, where he mentors students to help them adjust to campus life. Liam can’t wait to share his love of nature and the outdoors with his Apogee students this summer as they bike from Vermont to Montréal together!

Tess Healy – Vermont to Montreal

We’re so excited to welcome Tess Healy (back) to Apogee as a Vermont to Montréal leader this summer! A former Apogee student herself, Tess has previously partaken in four Apogee trips! With us, she has biked along coastal paths on Cape Cod & the Islands, backpacked in Yosemite on California Mountains & Coast, hiked, backpacked, and whitewater rafted in the Olympic and North Cascades National Parks on Northwest Explorer, and even cycle toured through six countries from Amsterdam to Venice on Europe Coast to Coast! Whew! Now a rising junior at Dickinson College majoring in Environmental Studies and Minoring in Italian, Tess has become passionate about global environmental issues, especially climate change. Last fall, Tess spent three weeks in rural Nepal to research and study climate change and human security; while there, she conducted interviews on climate hazards and community resilience. Tess also took a gap year before starting up at Dickinson, during which she worked in New York City and traveled to the Bahamas to study sea turtles and other sea creatures! While Tess is a runner on Dickinson’s cross country and track team, we’re excited to see her on wheels again this summer as she cycles from Vermont to Montréal with her Apogee students!