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…
The JEDI Council: J(ustice) E(quity) D(iversity) I(nclusion) By Omar Martinez Omar Martinez was born in Nicaragua at the tail end of a revolution. His family immigrated to the U.S. when he was four years old. After pursuing a brief stint in aspiration of professional soccer glory, he quickly realized his talents were better suited to…
Being More IN it: Lessons on Embracing Discomfort From a 17-Year-Old By Somer Morris I never get tired of telling this story. It was the moment I realized the power of Grand Canyon Youth. On this particular morning, on the Esplanade Ledges at Sheer Wall camp in Grand Canyon, my eyes opened to the important…
Cowboy Coffee and Campfire By Madeline Friend Photo by Maddie Friend. My clothes smell of cowboy coffee and campfire on another river morning when everything is the same and more different than it has ever been. _____ I step onto my boat the one caked in sand and grins held together by technicolor…
Building Skills for Science and Life on the San Juan River By Tory Syracuse Northern Arizona University’s Upward Bound Math & Science (UBMS) program supports high schoolers who are potential first-generation college students. According to Director Mark Despain, “UBMS focuses on working with students from five high schools in northern Arizona. Most of our students…