Celebrating a Year of “Home” Ownership By Patrick Conley In 1998, Grand Canyon Youth ran its first expedition, on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon. On January 1 of that year, Dennis and Lauri Wilson gave Grand Canyon River Guides (GCRG) a generous deal on the rental of an office, where GCRG and The Whale…
Down the Great Unknown By Emma Wharton “We are three-quarters of a mile in the depths of the earth and the great river shrinks into insignificance, as it dashes its angry waves against the walls and cliffs, that rise to the world above; they are but puny ripples, and we but pigmies, running up and…
Dear GCY Community, During a year when almost nothing was certain, there was one thing we here at Grand Canyon Youth could count on: you! Your generosity allowed GCY to protect the health and safety of our participants, staff, and communities by canceling our 2020 season. Now, as we plan our return to…
Reverberations By Megan Dwyer GCY provides young people time to play and learn in nature. That is, however, only one small part of it. GCY also gives us an opportunity to practice and feel the impact of community care, to be valued and empowered, to meet and learn from other human beings with values and…
Life in Transport: From GCY Guide to Grad School and Back Again By Madeline Friend Author’s note: You can read the full text of my research here and find the accompanying digital storytelling tool here. The author, Madeline Friend, rows GCY participants down the San Juan River. While on my first Grand Canyon trip ever…
Live Every Day Like You’re on the River By Kat Ko Kat Ko is a biologist by training and an explorer at heart. She is passionate about making science accessible to everyone and connecting with others through outdoor adventures. Her pink hair in this photo is the result of a GCY dye job! Photo by…
Underwater By Angela L. Keith Photo by Angela Keith I am underwater. Two seconds ago, I was in a bright red paddle raft entering Fossil Rapid on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. Now I’m underwater, hearing muffled current and crashing waves. I’m under the boat. Then I’m not. I’m back underwater, sucked down for…
Staying Engaged During the Pandemic By Jordan Robinson GCY expeditions are on pause, but we’re still working hard to connect with young people and our broader community. Like many of us, young people are experiencing the trauma of a global pandemic. It has changed their plans and the world they will inherit with disconcerting and…
Let’s Talk About It: Mental Health First Aid By Jean-Philippe Clark Jean-Philippe Clark is GCY’s Operations Director. He originally came to Grand Canyon Youth in 2007 as a youth himself. Inspired by the water, the people, and the experience he decided to simply never grow up. Now years later, he still finds his home sitting…
Paying It Forward: The Alumni Scholarship Fund By Kate Aitchison Kate Aitchison is an artist whose work focuses on human interventions in the natural landscape and a river guide for Grand Canyon Youth and Canyon Expeditions/Explorations.She is a GCY alumni and a lover of beauty and wild places. She is one of the founders of…
Hometown: Halfway, Oregon
Year started at GCY: 2009
Justin did his first trip with GCY as a participant in 2007. They haven’t been able to get rid of him since. River running has become his passion, sharing the power of outdoor learning with youth on rivers throughout the desert west. He’s worked as a river guide, a wooden boat builder, and outdoor educator. He’s excited to be helping GCY run things behind the scenes in the warehouse, food room, and vehicle yard.
“I have always been unsatisfied with life as most people live it. Always I want to live more intensely and richly. Why muck and conceal one’s true longings and loves, when by speaking of them one might discover one’s self?” – Everett Ruess