Elon Outdoors Staff
Meet the Outdoors Staff
Ryan Monkman
Ryan Monkman is a senior from Mundelein, Illinois. His favorite part of being involved with Elon Outdoors is the connections he made through Adventures in Leadership and “enjoying the beauty that our world has to offer.” His favorite outdoor activities are hiking, camping, and kayaking. Ryan plans on becoming a mountain man when he retires.
Grace Contino
Grace Contino is a senior from Northport, NY. Her favorite part about working for Elon Outdoors is the community and the people who are “super chill and outgoing, never afraid to try new things.” Her favorite memory is camping in Charleston with her friends over fall break her first year. Grace’s favorite outdoor activity is kayaking. Fun fact: two years ago Grace went hang-gliding in Switzerland. Next, she wants to skydive when she travels to Australia.
Genevieve Emerson
Genevieve Emerson is a junior from Denver, Colorado. She is super excited to work for Elon Outdoors, lead trips and get out into the wilderness more. Being from Colorado, skiing is her absolute favorite outdoor activity (especially when there is a foot of fresh powder), but also always loves to relax in a hammock or go backpacking. Fun Fact: Genevieve took a gap year before coming to Elon, where she spent three months in the backcountry of Mexico on a NOLS course!
Grace Middleton
Grace Middleton is a senior from Marshfield, Massachusetts. She is stoked to work for Elon Outdoors because she gets to do what she loves the most with a group of awesome people and provide an escape from everyday campus life to other students. Her favorite outdoor activities are camping, hiking, skiing and kayaking. Fun fact: Grace is excited to study abroad in Sorrento, Italy next semester and hike the Path of Gods.
Will Davies
Will Davies is a senior from Rye, New York. He is so excited to work for Elon Outdoors because of the opportunity it provides to learn new skills and expand his knowledge of the outdoors. He loves hiking, sailing, and skiing! Fun fact: Will is double jointed.
Avery Davis
Avery Davis is a junior from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her favorite part about working for Elon Outdoors is meeting amazing people who are willing to be present in the moment, appreciating each other’s company and the outdoors. Her favorite outdoor activities are hiking, climbing, and rollerblading. Fun fact: Avery is learning to unicycle and hopes that someday she will be able to go more than 10 feet.
Olivia Solis
Olivia Solis is a senior from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She loves Elon Outdoors because of all the awesome people she has met and will meet in the future. Olivia is always excited to push people out of their comfort zone, as well as help them de-stress and have fun! Her favorite outdoor activity is whitewater rafting. Fun fact: Olivia can ride a unicycle!
Jenna Sudol
Jenna Sudol is a junior from Princeton, New Jersey. She loves the Outdoors community because it allows her to connect with people who appreciate the outdoors and are open to new adventures. Fun fact: Jenna can walk on her hands!
Kara Friske
Kara Friske is a senior from Kohler, Wisconsin. She loves the community of Outdoors and the opportunity to explore amazing places with great people. Her favorite outdoor activities are backpacking, hammocking, swimming, and whitewater rafting. Fun fact: Kara spent a semester studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain.
Veda Karlsen-Heil
Veda Karlsen-Heil is a sophomore from Anoka, Minnesota. Her favorite part of working with Elon Outdoors is the awesome people she gets to work with and being able to share the beauty of nature with her peers. Her favorite outdoor activity is open water swimming, hiking, and kayaking! Fun Fact: Veda has been ice climbing on a frozen waterfall!
Callahan Johnston
Callahan Johnston is a junior from Jupiter, Florida. She is so excited to be a part of such a fun and authentic community who loves being outside as much as she does! Her favorite outdoor activity is camping with lots of s’mores and stargazing. Fun fact: Callahan has hiked Machu Picchu!
Chloe Stuart
Chloe Stuart is a sophomore from Montclair, New Jersey. She is excited to be a part of the outdoors teams because of the opportunity to learn new skills and explore amazing places with amazing people. Her favorite outdoor activities are backpacking and climbing. Fun fact: Chloe’s #1 bucket list item is to visit all 63 national parks!
Lowell Smith
Lowell Smith is a sophomore from Richmond, Virginia. His favorite part of being involved with Elon Outdoors is the community that comes with it. You can find Lowell outside running, hiking or playing sports with friends. Fun Fact: Lowell got to see the northern lights in Iceland after making friends with some guys staying in his youth hostel that night!
Sadie Smith
Sadie Smith is a first-year from San Diego, California. She is stoked to be working for Elon Outdoors to be a part of a warm and eclectic community and share her excitement about exploring the outdoors with others. Her favorite outdoor activity is hiking, hammocking, climbing, and canoeing. Fun fact: she is a headstand enthusiast.
Akani Bey
Akani Bey is a sophomore from Brooklyn, NYC. He is super excited to work for Elon Outdoors because it will expand his passions and studies of the outdoors and it allows him to continue learning about nature and environmental processes. Given that Akani’s family is from the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, his top 3 favorite outdoors activities are snorkeling, kayaking, and climbing. Fun fact: Akani plans to become a restoration biologist that works with Black and Indigenous communities.