Spring 2012 Instructors
Hi there - I'm Jessie Spehar! I grew up in Rawlins, Wyoming and learned to love nature while camping with my family. I graduated from the University of Wyoming in 2007 and 2009 with degrees in Elementary and Special Education. I spent 3 years teaching K-3 Special Education in Laramie, Wyoming. This is my second season with the High Trails Outdoor Education Center, and I’ve called Sanborn Western Camps home for 5 summers and love every mountain, hike, ninja squirrel and crazy costume I’ve come in contact with! I can’t wait for the Spring and the opportunity to continue working with children in nature!
Hi! My name's Michael Piel. I grew up in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, and am a recent grad of New York University majoring in Film & TV and minoring in English. My parents often took me on camping trips as a kid, instilling a love of nature in me from an early age. My favorite foods are chicken tikka masala, buffalo wings (hot wings some places, right?), and dumplings. A love of Clint Eastwood westerns and Cormac McCarthy (and of course working with children!) brought me out to Sanborn last summer, and I have never had a more incredible or fulfilling experience. I am very happy to be spending my first season with HTOEC!
Hey! I'm Jenny Hartman. I was lucky enough to grow up in beautiful Littleton, Colorado. I started off my college careeer at Hastings College in Nebraska, studying Elementary and Special Education. After transferring schools and changing my major far too many times I graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies. I came to High Trails in the summer of 2008 and knew this is where I wanted to be ever since. I fell in love with the mountains as well as with teaching kids in the outdoors. I am very excited to spend my fourth season teaching outdoor education at HTOEC this Spring!
Howdy folks! My name is Marie “Mur” DiBenedetto and I hail from
Allentown, PA about an hour north of Philadelphia. When I was a kid, I
fell in love with the outdoors through fishing and hiking with my dad.
I headed to the big city of NY for college, majoring in Environmental
Studies and World History at Pace University. Post college I have had
many wonderful experiences including, organic farming, AmeriCorp
service and have taught Outdoor Education all over New England. When I am not frolicking in the woods or on the beach I enjoy gardening, skiing, reading a good book and hanging out with goats. I am stoked to be in Colorado and can’t wait for my students to arrive!
Hi! My name is Adam Joshua Delp. I am a proud uncle of 6. I grew up in the fields and woods of Michiana, and have spent most of my adult life in the mountains of Colorado. I am a graduate of Colorado Christian University and currently enrolled in a Wilderness Therapy program at Naropa University. I'm a peanut butter addict. I love to contra dance. During this wild adventure we call life, I've been fortunate to drink mate with gauchos in Patagonia, eat tilapia on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya, and savor sweet black tea on the ancient streets of Cairo... I'm so stoked to be a part of the HTOEC family this Spring!
Hello! My name is Bea Raemdonck and I am a recent graduate from the University of Kansas where I majored in psychology and minored in English. This is my first time working at High Trails Outdoor Education Center; however before that I enjoyed 4 summers on staff at Sanborn Western Camps. When I am not frolicking around outside in beautiful Colorado, you can find me cooking with friends or watching the Kansas Jayhawks win at basketball...Rock Chalk!
Hello there! My name is William Ostendorf, but you can call me Will'O. I was born and raised in Fort Collins, Colorado where majority of my childhood was spent outdoors playing in the mountains. I studied music education and business at Colorado State Univerity. During my time at CSU I spent last 4 summers working at Sanborn Western Camps as a counselor and wrangler. Sanborn is where I found my passion for outdoor education. This will be my first season working for High Trails Outdoor Education Center and I am so excited. When I am not working with kids in the outdoors I can be found singing opera on top of my trusty horse Lyric, also known as Lieutenant Meat Waffles. I am so lucky to get the opportunities have my dream job - working with kids outside! How cool is that?!?!
Hey there, I’m Michelle Davis. I grew up in Sherrill, NY not far south of the beautiful Adirondack Mountains. I spend a lot of my time up north hiking, paddling and filling bug jars with salamanders and centipedes. I have a major in Environmental Studies and a minor in Wilderness Education from SUNY Potsdam. I was lucky enough to get credit for backpacking, rock climbing, wading through bogs, and reading Muir and Thoreau. I’ve never spent any time in Colorado, so I’m psyched to get to High Trails and be introduced to the Wild West!
Hey everyone! I’m Brendan Brady. I grew up in Troy, NY where my love for the outdoors grew through childhood adventures and exploration. I’m a recent graduate of SUNY Potsdam, in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains, where I Majored in Environmental studies and minored in Wilderness Education. During the course of my studies I was fortunate enough to participate in two leadership expeditions. The first was in the Siamese Pond Wilderness in the Adirondacks and the second was to the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana. I’ve spent the past three summers as an environmental educator at my local nature center and am very excited to bring my experiences with me to Colorado!
