"I never realized how integral the outdoors were to my childhood until I began teaching skiing after college. What was supposed to be a one-year “break” was really a transition into working in the outdoors" - Linnea.
Linnea is our newest addition at New Treks, and although she isn't new to many of the faces we've been working with, we would like to take the time to properly introduce her on here. Linnea joined us over a month ago as the Assistant Director and Instructor. While the growth that created the need for Linnea was beyond exciting, finding someone as passionate and talented as Linnea to join the team was the real success. She immediately showed her enthusiasm for all things outdoors, displayed (and continues to display) endless patience and kindness with all students and contributed a wealth of energy to the program.
Growing up right along the American River in Fair Oaks, California, Linnea spent much of her youth exploring the outdoors. From an early age, her mom shared her own passion of the outdoors with Linnea, encouraging her to start skiing at the age of 3 and backpacking at the age of 7. Holidays were spent hiking around Tahoe and swimming in alpine lakes, fostering a connection with nature that Linnea still nurtures today.
After graduating from UC Berkeley with a major in Neurobiology and a minor in Art History, Linnea spent more than 5 years living the life of adventure before settling in Colorado. In that time she worked as a ski instructor at Copper Mountain, hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (yes, she did that!), taught skiing in Idaho, worked as a guide with people with disabilities in New Zealand, completed a masters degree in Outdoor Education, got into mountain biking and climbing in Arizona and worked at an expeditionary school in North Carolina.
Linnea's favorite outdoor sport is skiing (she has recently gotten into backcountry skiing), she LOVES cinnamon rolls, enjoys an extremely active lifestyle (whether that be running, biking, climbing, skiing, swimming, etc.) and goes by many names that she has picked up along the way - Tarzan, Otter, Naya and Linnea (don't ask us, we don't know!).
As far as working with kids goes, Linnea says "I love working with kids because they are often more willing than adults to learn and try new things. They have the funniest one-liners, get so excited about the small things, and are total sponges for information. I get to teach and share experiences that will hopefully have a positive impact on their life. Getting to share experiences and passions, and also getting to facilitate their relationship with the outdoors is such an awesome opportunity. Getting kids to love the outdoors is my job! Can’t say no to that." Linnea believes that outdoor education is important in steering youth towards a more active lifestyle, adding that outdoor education incorporates both hard and soft skills which sets kids up for better navigating life in general. She's also a strong believer in cultivating a relationship between oneself and nature, noting that it encourages more of a conservationist mentality going forward.
As you may be able to tell from above, New Treks is extremely lucky to have found such a talented, passionate, intelligent, nature-loving adventurer like Linnea. She has added an energy and enthusiasm to the classroom that encourages our students to grow as people and in their passion for the outdoors and for that, we are so grateful to have her on the team.
P.S. Keep an eye out for Linnea's intro video coming later this month!
Happy Trekking,
Jess