AC Debuts Adventure Canada Young Scholars Awards Program
Through the hard work of member Stefan Kindberg and board member Milbry Polk, Adventure Canada and the Explorers Club are delighted to announce this exciting new program. Now, young Explorers Club members and prospective members (ages 18-30) can apply to join Adventure Canada’s expeditions to further their work and research.
In 2016, we are delighted to welcome the selected few aboard our Heart of the Arctic expedition–setting sail in less than a week!
Adventure Canada is offering twelve places on this expedition to the Arctic for qualified applicants. Furthermore, starting in 2017, a place will be offered on each of the expeditions that Adventure Canada offers.
Introducing youth to the Arctic is a vital aspect of northern stewardship, and it is our responsibility to ensure that future generations are equipped with the reverence for and appreciation of our wonderful Arctic.
Together with the Explorers Club, we are delighted to welcome these young explorers aboard for what will undoubtedly be a life-changing experience.
– Alexksandr Rikterman is a young video producer intent on showing the adventure that is life when one pushes themselves completely out of their comfort zone in an attempt to understand the world around them. He is a 2015 Television Academy Foundation College Television Award 1st place Emmy winner in the unscripted/ reality series category for his web series – “A Solo-Traveler’s Guide To: The World”.
– Michael Dexter has long been interested in how communities prepare for extreme weather. Since graduating in 2012 from Columbia University, he has worked on efforts to help communities prepare for, and recover from, natural disasters. Over the past four years, he has worked through a postgraduate fellowship with the United States Environmental Protection Agency to help communities promote natural hazard preparedness and adapt to changing climate conditions.
– Antonella Wilby is a PhD student studying Computer Science at UC San Diego and a National Geographic Young Explorer. As a passionate roboticist, explorer, and photographer, she hopes to unify technological innovation with exploration and storytelling. She has built cutting-edge technologies for marine mammal monitoring, shipwreck mapping, and underwater cave imaging. Antonella is an avid adventurer, backpacker, climber, and traveler.
– Trevor Wallace is a documentary filmmaker and indigenous rights advocate. As an Explorers Club Member he has created videos for notable members such as James Cameron, Sir David Attenborough and HSH Prince Albert of Monaco. Trevor studied at Sarah Lawrence College, the University of Havana, and has his Masters in Education from Boston University. Trevor is a Students on Ice alumnus from the 2010 Antarctic expedition where he shot a short on climate change.
– Geographer, Biologist and Adventurer, Joshua Powell is a Thouron Award Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. Josh’s research has taken him from working with monkeys in Japan, to tracking wolves in the mountains of Eastern Europe. Josh’s research interests include large carnivore conservation, human-wildlife conflict and social conservation models. Josh was named a ‘Leader of Tomorrow’ in 2016 by the St Gallen Wings of Excellence Award.
– Kate Sutter: “I’ve been pants-less atop volcanos. I’ve camped on icebergs in Antarctica. I’ve swam next to great whites. I’ve taken selfies in the bathroom mirrors of shipwrecks 90 ft below. I also hold a pretty irrelevant degree from Fordham. I worked on marine life with scientists at the American Museum of Natural History for a while and quickly decided it’s what makes me most happy. So I did what anyone would do: got my divemaster certification and am exploring the world.”
– Johann Sigurdson IV is the fourth generation of modern Icelandic settlers in North America, An energetic and athletic adventurer who likes to be challenged both physically and mentally, Johann has participated in two Explorer’s Club flag Expeditions to Hudson Bay where he served as Expedition photographer, Zodiac driver, and polar bear guard. A photographer and drone pilot, Johann enjoys spending time in the outdoors of northern Canada.
– Nicole Collier is a Science Instructor at Marlborough School in Los Angeles. After graduating from Smith College with a degree in Geosciences, she worked seasonally with the National Park Service and NOAA in Alaska, Colorado, and Washington. Her primary research interests include alpine hydrology, aqueous geochemistry, and cryosphere-climate interactions. In her free time she enjoys long walks in the alpine, copious amounts of tea, powder days, and sleeping under the stars.
– Natalie Treadwell: “Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, surrounded by mountains and wildlife, I have always had a spirit for adventure. I am now nineteen years old and a rising sophomore at The University of Notre Dame. I am an art major and I have recently started oil painting. I find inspiration in wild places and I am excited to see what this opportunity has in store for us all.”
