Adventure West Virginia

Meet the Summer 2007 Trip Leaders and Adventure WV staff!

"The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already."

-John Buchan

Name: Adam Pellillo
Class year: Senior
Major: Economics and Political Science
Hometown: Fairmont, WV

Bio: Adam thoroughly enjoys the outdoors--especially rock climbing,
backpacking, caving, and skiing. He recently led the ORC spring break trip to Moab, Utah and fell in love with the west. Adam hopes to one day complete a doctorate in economics and travel the world. He spends his free time hanging out with friends and family and seeking adventure wherever he can find it. Adam also does an awe-inspiring Kermit the Frog.
.

Quote: (As published in the London Times, way back when)
"Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success."
- Ernest Shackleton

Name: Amanda (Manda) Obery
Class year: 2nd Year Masters Student
Major: Science Education
Hometown: Cleveland, OH

Bio: Though Manda is currently having a blast teaching middle schoolers, her main interests include biking, running, climbing, boatin', and anything else that will keep her outside. Always up for a good time but still a workerbee at heart, Manda can be found leading Backpack and Paddle trips this summer and spending any free time at the NRG (New River Gorge). Her life goal is to always have something to smile about.

Name: Brenden Hildum
Class year: Junior
Major: Chemistry
Hometown: Concord, NH

Bio: I like...backcountry skiing, backpacking, climbing, slacklining,
skydiving, fishing and just being outside. When not outside I like to listen to music and eat lots of foood.

Name: Lemma McLean
Class year: Junior
Major: Human Nutrition and Foods
Hometown: Charleston, WV

Bio: I am a returning Habitat West Virginia leader and I can’t wait to start a new summer of Adventure trips! I love pretty much anything outdoors, but some of my favorites include: climbing, backpacking and skiing. I can’t wait to travel to Patagonia, Chile during winter break with Forrest and Greg as an extension of the Adventure WV program! I will hopefully graduate soon in Human Nutrition and Foods and move on to graduate school to possibly study nutrition with an emphasis on experiential education. I enjoy doing service and I really enjoy introducing new students to the Habitat for Humanity program for the first time. It is a great organization and I love how students feel a great sense of accomplishment at the end of the week in completing a task that really benefits someone else.

Quote: “ If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves. "
-Thomas Edison

Name: Carl Kautz (aka Scout Master)
Class year: Junior
Major: Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Resources
Hometown: Harpers Ferry, WV

Bio: Before coming to WVU, Carl was in Germany fixing fighter planes for the US Air Force. Now Carl can be found hiking, trying to be on the water as much as possible and exploring throughout WV and wherever else life takes him.

Quote: “Don't worry, I've got an idea-an idea so smart my head would explode if I even began to know what I was talking about."
-Peter Griffin

Name: Evan Widney
Class year: Sophomore
Major: Economics
Hometown: Fairmont, WV

Bio: Evan drives a Jeep Liberty. However, as you can see by this picture he spends much of his time hitch hiking the back roads of WV.

When you see Evan on campus, don't forget to give him a giant "thumbs up" or "hang loose"!

Quote: "Like, uhhh, can I catch a ride dude? "
-Evan

Name: Greg Corio, Adventure WV Program Coordinator Sr.
Class year: WVU Alumni
Major: Masters from WVU in Recreation, Parks and Tourism Resources
Hometown: Morgantown, WV

Bio: Greg has both his BA and MS degree from WVU's Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Resources Program. He has been teaching in the field of Experiential Education for eight years. When not leading trips with his partner "Happy-the black lab", he can be found sea kayaking, ice climbing, backpacking, and just about any other outdoor activity you can think of.

Quote: "Adventure means risking something, and only when we are doing that, that we know what a splendid thing life is and how well it can be lived. The person who never dares, never does; the person who never risks, never wins. Only fools laugh at failure: wise people laugh at the lazy and the too contented and at those who are so timid that they dare undertake nothing."
-Alain Gerboult

Name: Forrest Schwartz, Adventure WV Program Manager
Class year: WVU Alumni
Major: M.S. Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Resources
Hometown: Morgantown, WV

Bio: Forrest received a Master's degree from WVU in recreation with an emphasis in Adventure-Based Counseling and Experiential Education. He is passionate about Outdoor and Adventure Education and leadership in the outdoors. He enjoys rock climbing, kayaking, mountain biking, backpacking, and all things snow. When not playing outside Forrest can be found drumming with local bands and eating at the Black Bear restaurant.

Quote: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler." -Henry David Thoreau

Name: Jay Franklin
Class year: Graduate
Major: Computer Science/Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Resources
Hometown: Woodbridge, VA

Bio: After early retirement from the world of computer nerdery, Jay found his passion in the outdoors. Active within Adventure WV and Professional Parks and Rec. Society, Jay can also be found trail running, lifting, or backpacking on any given day. He sleeps with his acoustic guitar, Betsy, every night not in the backcountry.

Quote: "Challenge limitations, question convention, explore the unknown." -Me

Name: Julie Kagler
Class year: Sophomore
Major: Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Resources with a Minor in Leadership Studies
Hometown: Wheeling, WV

Bio: Julie was a 2006 Explore WV participant. You can usually find her at
the Student Recreation Center either climbing at the wall, working at the equipment cage or taking a Zumba class. Aproud member of the Mountaineer Maniacs, Julie can be found at all of the WVU football games and most of the basketball games. She loves being outdoors especially when she is backpacking or climbing with friends. She loves to travel and hopes to go backpacking through Europe after graduating. She spent her spring break this past year in Moab, Utah on an Outdoor Recreation Center trip. She also hopes to attend a winter break trip to the Patagonia Region of Chile with WVU. She hopes to graduate in May of 2010 and go on graduate school for her Masters.

Quote: "It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves-in finding themselves?? "
-Andre Gide

Name: Lynnmarie Kuntz, Adventure WV Administrative Associate
Class year: N/A
Major: N/A
Hometown: Pennsylvania

Bio: Lynn has been employed at WVU for 21 years and has been with Adventure WV for just under a year now. She has 2 children. When she is not in the Adventure WV office you may find her visiting her grandson Austin in Maryland, or spending time with Sniffy her grand-dog. Her hobbies include traveling, bowling, walking, jet-skiing on the river, painting, and sewing. Lynn is the glue that holds us together! We don't know how we ever did it without her!

Quote: "Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today, enjoy life to the fullest "
-Lynn

Name: Ian Kellems, Ph.D.
Class year: Psychologist at WVU's Carruth Center for Counseling
Major: B.A. in Psychology from Brigham Young University; M.A. and Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Maryland
Hometown: Orem, UT

Bio: Ian’s formal education is in Psychology, but his professional outdoor experience includes four years as a raft guide on the Colorado River (Cataract Canyon) and working as a kayak instructor. He is an Eagle Scout, and grew up playing in the deserts and mountains of Utah. Ian serves as a course director for AWV, and leads the SOAR program. When Ian isn’t working he enjoys fixing up his old house, whitewater kayaking, and doing anything outside with his wife and three rambunctious kids. During the academic year you can find Ian working as a psychologist at WVU’s Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services.

Quote: "Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls"
-Joseph Campbell

Name: Chris Drescher (aka Big Dresch)
Class year: Junior
Major: Psychology
Hometown: Charleston, WV

Bio: Chris is president of the WVU Habitat for Humanity chapter and has been working with Habitat for over 2 years. He enjoys music, the outdoors, and kickin' it old school with friends.

Quote: "Love is da s**t!"
-Michael Franti

Name: Mary Brys
Class year: 2nd Year Masters Student
Major: Environmental Education
Hometown: Mentor, OH

Bio: Mary likes blue. She also likes horses. Someday she hopes to participate in a 7 day bareback endurance horserace in Patagonia.

Name: Dave Neumann (aka FIFO)
Class year: Senior
Major: Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Resources
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH "WHODEY!"

Bio: Dave enjoys backpacking,rock climbing, rappelling,whitewater rafting,kayaking,wrestling, running, swimming, and SKYDIVING. David is currently on the Climbing Wall Staff for the indoor rock wall at the Student Recreation Center. Aside from his job and school, he is president and an active member of the WVU Wrestling Club.

Quote: "It's better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life."
-Sister Elizabeth Kenny

Name: Eric Lovell
(aka E-Luv)
Class year: Sophomore
Major: Geography
Hometown: Sistersville, WV

Bio: An aspiring hairdresser, Eric is still in search of the perfect hairgel. He claims a week without a shower is a great substitute for expensive hair product. Watch out Vidal Sassoon, I think he's on to something.

Name: Ben Sieminski
Class year: Junior
Major: Early Childhood Development
Hometown: Somewhere in PA

Bio: Ben is an excellent cook. He often considers attending a school for the culinary arts and opening his own high end restaurant somewhere west of the Mississippi.

Name: Brett Hagerty
Class year: N/A
Major: M.S Recreation
Hometown: Morgantown, WV

Bio: Brett is the manager of the WVU Outdoor Recreation Center and Climbing wall.

Quote: "May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, and leading to the most amazing view."
-Edward Abbey

Name: Shane McManus
Class year: Sophomore
Major: Geography
Hometown: Core, WV

Bio: Shane likes to eat raw fish fresh out of the Alaskan seas. He is seen here preparing to devour an Alaskan King salmon. He says it's all good until the bones get stuck in your teeth. Sometimes the fish do bite back!

Name: Carie Behe
Class year: Senior
Major: Marketing
Hometown: Altoona, PA

Bio: Carie was an Explore WV 2004 Participant. Her passion in life is traveling: She has traveled to Europe, Australia, the Fiji Islands and also spent 6 months in New Zealand, where she hopes to one day return and live. Carie enjoys all outdoor activities, especially climbing, whitewater rafting, sea kayaking, bungy jumping, skydiving and snowboarding. As a marketing major, Carie just landed an internship with KEEN Footwear for the fall of 2007. When not working at the
Outdoor Rec Center or the Olive Garden, Carie spends her free time at the climbing wall, hanging out with friends, going to Black Bear, and making sushi.

Quote: "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Name: Kyle Potts
Class year: Sophomore
Major: Engineering
Hometown: Emmitsburg, MD

Bio: Kyle likes rock climbing, boating, cycling, running, long walks on the beach, and candle lit dinners. As an engineering major he uses the outdoors to escape from the rigors of the class room. Kyle likes pudding...a lot!

Quote: "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
-Sir Winston Churchill

Name: Mike Criste
(aka Survivor Mike)
Class year: Junior
Major: International Studies
Hometown: Point Pleasant, WV

Bio: Michael, a West Virginia native, grew up loving the outdoors but just didn't know what all his home state had to offer until he landed onto the Adventure WV program. Now Michael can be found throughout the Appalachians and different places around the country backpacking, climbing, horseback riding, snowboarding,
whitewater boating and just livin' life to the fullest. An avid
explorer, Michael dreams of one day being able to explore uncharted territory and recording a documentary about it.

Name: Kelly Takatsuki (aka K-Tak)
Class year: Sophomore
Major: Exercise Physiology
Hometown: Jersey

Bio: I love being outside and going on adventures, I'm deathly afraid of aliens, love music and sports, im excited to go skydiving this summer. Oh, and I'm in love with the jersey shore and boogie boarding. Kelly is also the President of the women's field hockey club at WVU.

Name: Stephanie Kainec
Class year: Junior
Major: Medical Technology, Nursing
Hometown: Cuyahoga Falls, OH

Bio: Steph attended Explore WV in the summer of 2005. She loves being outdoors especially if it involves hiking to scenic areas. Other than being outdoors she enjoys working out at the Rec, traveling, cheering for the mountaineers as well as Cleveland, and playing sports. She is currently the public relations person for the WVU Red Cross Club.

Name: Stephen Patton
(aka General); Adventure WV Graduate Assistant
Class year: 2nd Year Grad Student
Major: Recreation , Parks, and Tourism Resources
Hometown: Morgantown, WV

Bio: I received my B.S. from Toccoa Falls College in northeast Georgia. Although my degree is in Business Administration, I plan on working outside as much as possible. Having spent the last year in California teaching outdoor education, I am now excited about working in outdoor education in the long-term. I love being outside and spend most of my free time climbing, mountain biking, snowboarding, or running. Favorite place to climb: Seneca Rocks, West Virginia. Favorite place to mountain bike: Pisgah, North Carolina. Favorite place to snowboard: Heavenly ski resort, South Lake Tahoe, California.

Quote: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
- Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854)

Name: Trace Gale, PhD., Assistant Professor in Community Resource Assessment, Planning & Development; West Virginia University Extension Service
Class year: WVU Alumni
Major: Doctorate from WVU in Recreation, Parks and Tourism Resources; MBA from Villanova University with an Emphasis on Marketing; Bachelor from Middle Tennessee State University in Business Administration
Hometown: Wilmington, DE

Bio: Trace assists communities throughout West Virginia and in the southernmost regions of Chile with Community Resource Assessment, Planning & Development. She has developed undergraduate and graduate level learning adventures which students say are “life changing”! Her courses focus on outdoor adventure, leadership, entrepreneurism, global civic engagement, and community-led sustainable development. “Adventure Patagonia” is her latest collaboration with Adventure West Virginia, and promises to be the best course yet! When not leading trips, Trace can be found exploring rivers, forests, lakes, and mountains; wherever life’s adventures send her.

Quote: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
- Mark Twain

Name: Mary Slabinski (aka Maluszka)
Class year: 2nd Year Masters Student
Major: Social Work
Hometown: Somewhere in the US

Bio: This is where we say something about Mary. She was in Costa Rica at the time when bios were being created. She's back now, but we still don't have a bio for her. Mary doesn't actually look anything like a compass.