Art and Nature Leaders: Alexander Rolph and Sarah Allen

Hi, it’s Zanbaby, Zander Rolph from SLO CA where I shred the gnar on the waves and splish splashy in the tide pools. I’m a junior at bates and spend most of my time standing on Mount David or engaging in academic activities and that’s it. I have a good smile. In my spare time, I play squash, I get sendy climbing, I am on the Bates IM Water Polo team, but most importantly I know how to lifeguard. I can’t wait to engage in artistic activities and give you some artsy tips on how to have a good time at Bates. I have crazy stories from Bates, for example, I was on tv on a snow day. Peace and love kids, super stoked to meet you all. Hugs and kisses -Z

Heyy! My name is Sarah, but most people at Bates call me Sally (Zander can’t wait to tell you why!). I am originally from Kenya but I have moved 14 times and, even though I am not a huge fan of the cold, I have made it all the way to Maine! When I am not lost among the very confusing bookshelves of ladd library attempting to do work, I enjoy sunset walks up mount david and sprawling out by the puddle with friends and some Kim’s fried rice. I am a history major and a philosophy minor which is why I have a map of the library bookshelves laminated in my backpack. Some of the things I love include: music (and playing ukulele!), painting, hiking, jumping on trampolines, flowers and snuggling up with friends playing Catan. Most importantly, I love pasta. I make a great bolognese in commons if you need the recipe, lmk. Can’t wait to meet you all. We are going to have oodles of fun doing art and hiking, both things I happen to love!

Aroostook County Daytripping I Leaders: Brady Orozco-Herman and Sophia Cherian

What’s gooooood cats?! I’m Sophia and I’m here to introduce you to my wonderful Co-AESOP leader Brady! Brady hails from the classic state of Massachusetts where he lives with his twin brother and three moms. (He’ll tell you it’s the best state, but I’m over here still rooting for the midwest.) On campus, you can find Brady killing it on the volleyball court as a co-president of club volleyball, out on the lake during sailing club, at the climbing wall in Merrill, or studying for his Environmental Studies major or History minor. Still obsessed with Drake and Josh, Brady is guaranteed to make an obscure Nickelodeon reference at least once while we’re on Aesop. Despite his mediocre dance moves, he’ll be killin’ it at every dance, decked out in full costume. Brady is one of the nicest people at bates and we can’t wait to meet you all on Aroostook 1!

Heyooooo! It’s Brady here introducing your amazing AESOP leader Sophia. Sophia is from Minneapolis, Minnesota, so don’t make too much fun of how bad the Vikings are. She majors in Anthropology, minors in History (and definitely NOT Econ). What does Sophia do here on campus? A better question would be what DOESN’T she do here on campus?? Sophia is what you might call a modern-day Renaissance woman. You can catch her doing just about everything at Bates — she is co-president of club volleyball, and also a peer tutor, on the golf team, part of dance, sunshine society, and Special Olympics! Sophia is more bubbly than a roll of bubble wrap and will instantly become one of your favorite people at Bates. We’re super stoked to have you join us on our Aroostook 1 adventure!

Aroostook County Daytripping II Leaders: Abby Quinn and David Bilbrey

Hi Bates Aesopers!! My name is Abby Quinn and I am from Salisbury, CT. It is full of beautiful hills and the Appalachian Trail runs through it!! I am a rising sophomore and thinking of majoring in biology. I am afraid of tortoises, I have an unhealthy appreciation of clouds and my favorite game is UNO. At Bates, I love playing frisbee (I’m 100% better than David). I love hiking and farming and I get to do both of these things on Aesop! Aesop is going to be a crazy number of exciting activities. We are exploring Aroostook county in Maine and we get to farm potatoes, visit a trout farm, learn how to basket weave and visit an indigenous history museum!!! Can’t wait to meet you all!!
Two truths and a lie about David:
Owns a bear onsie
Set the world record for paper cranes* folded in an hour (*construction machine)
Eats 5 meals a day

Hey Aesopers! I’m David, i’m from Charlotte, North Carolina, and i’m a rising sophomore. I am planning on majoring in philosophy. At Bates, I spend my free time playing ultimate frisbee, running, and actively avoiding UNO. I’m known for being able to eat most cupcakes in one bite. On campus you can usually find me stuck in the time warp that is Commons. I love being active and being outside, so i’m thrilled to be leading a trip with so many activities. What is Aroostook all about? Well, if you are looking for a trip with farming then this is the one for you. But wait, there’s more! Aroostook also includes a tour of an indigenous history museum, basket weaving, camping, and day hiking. This trip is bound to be an awesome experience, and Abby and I are super excited to meet you all!
Two truths and a lie about Abby:
Her signature dance move is the shoulder shimmy
Listens to pretentious French music
Was an extra for the movie Boss Baby

Nezinscot Farm Trip Leaders: Nick Holmes and Nora Finley

HEYYY OKAY OKAY OKAY what’s going on my soon-to-be fellow Bobcats?! Congratulations on making the second best decision of your lifetime in choosing Bates Bollege as your home for the next four years. Second best? HUH? WUT? AROO? (confused dog, but you knew that)? That’s right. Your actual BEST decision has yet to be made, but it’s choosing this AESOP trip! My name is Nick and I’m a senior at the Bates College University for the Fun and Whimsical. I come from the highly populated and incredibly explosive state of Vermont. I am a Spanish Major who wants to TEACH the kids after graduation (education minor at Bates) with a GEC in creative outdoor bowling. I play Ultimate Frisbee and intend on convincing you all to pick up the disc once or twice…it will change your life. Now, back to this Aesop adventure. I am so excited to co-lead this trip on the beautiful farm of Nezinscot. There is truly nothing more relaxing and rewarding than basking in the sun all day, delving into the rich soil that our caring hands are blessed with here in Maine. Plus, we get to work with REAL farmers!! Upon choosing this trip, you are GUARANTEED a spot in the Farmers Only Club at Bates — yes, it’s exclusive. Likewise, you can go ahead and warn your neck that it will be thoroughly kissed by the beautiful Maine sun throughout the trip. Fortunately, you are also GUARANTEED a spot in the slightly more inclusive but equally rad Sun-kissed Neck Club at Bates. All in all, this trip was made for you and if we were allowed to, we’d accept everybody into the Farm Gang with open arms (but we can’t so it’s a competition — sign up quickly!!). I CANNOT WAIT to meet you all and share the wonderful experiences that Aesop and Bates have to offer. See you soon!! Cheers, Nick

Hello and welcome to the greatest AESOP trip of all time. My name is Nora but people also call me cool girl, fun girl, and cuter than Nick girl. I am sooo beyond excited to be leading a trip where we will be farming in the sunshine all freaking day. I hail from the greatest place on earth, Oregon, and if you don’t know where that is follow the scent of fresh strawberries in the summer and fresh pow pow in the winter. A couple things about little old me, I am a Senior Psychology major, Education minor and a “Scooby Doo: What’s really under that mask” GEC. In all seriousness, I am really looking forward to getting to know all of you and forming lasting friendships. AESOP is a great time to meet new friends and really put yourself out there and I hope to help all of you feel as comfortable as possible. Ok, back to the jokes, this AESOP is going to be sicker than the rest because we will just be eating food all day, playing with animals, and working with real farmers doing real things and I mean REAL things. Don’t worry I’ll protect you. Once you get to campus you will be able to recognize me by my large biceps and all of the people screaming “hey good lookin” from across the quad. Anyyyyywhoooo, I am so excited to meet all of you! Let’s freaking dooo it!

Valley View Farm Trip Leaders: Hannah Fitts and Steven Sparks

SUP DAWGZ. My name is Hannah Fitts, and although the animal that embodies my soul is a golden retriever, I have indeed worn a cow onesie through Heathrow airport while singing both of my cow songs (“I’m a cow” and “Thank You Cows”). So basically, I am one with the cows. I was born (in the darkness) in the great state of Rhode Island (home of coffee milk, and yes, this farm trip does include coffee cows that produce all-natural coffee milk!!). I have a mildly obese cat named Minnie (ironic), and if you like cats you’re in luck because there are definitely some #farmcats prowling around Nezinscot! At Bates I am a senior and a double major in Rowing and Physics with a minor in probably everything else… ask me about my Hip-Hop moves (they’re not as cool as Steven’s default dancing, but I digress). I have an aggressive addiction to waffles (call me leslie knope), and I am so excited to meet you all and turnip the beet on our farm trip! P.S. What do you call lonely cheese? PROVOLONE! Ha ha!

Hello incoming puppers! My name is Steven Sparks, otherwise known as the better leader (this is true, I am far superior to Hannah, and whatever she says is a lie). I have also been described as a golden retriever, but unlike Hannah, I dress normally in airports and I am not a cow yet. I am a sophomore from the super cool and exciting state of Connecticut. The survival skills that I have learned living in the dangerous suburbs will guide us to success on this trip.
As a chemistry major, I have also learned skills that include:
-Useless memorization
-Working without sleep or energy
-Sounding smart but knowing nothing
-Being able to create memes and take notes at the same time Catch me training for rowing or trying way too hard at any other sport
In my free time, I like to eat, nap, then eat again. I am super excited to meet you all and hopefully we can all become one with the cows by the end of the trip!

Surfing I Leaders: Ellie Madwed and Andrew Berg

Heelloo Class of 2023! I’m Ellie and I am so excited to meet you this fall! I come to Bates from Seattle, Washington- land of perfect salmon and 152 rainy days per year. I grew up exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest through hiking, kayaking, and skiing! I am a rising senior and a double major in Dance and Philosophy within these hallowed halls of education. When I’m not in class, you can find me devouring fruit pizza in commons (don’t knock it ‘til you try it), scouring Spotify for new music, or going to absurd lengths to get the perfect view of a great sunset. Now, I need you to ask yourself, does the ocean call to you as it calls to me? Do you feel the undeniable urge to ride some gnarly waves?! Do you want to spend four perfect days on the majestic Maine coast? If yes, you most definitely need to join me and my wonderful co-leader, Andrew, on SURFING 1!! We are beyond stoked to get to know you guys as we conquer the Atlantic one wave at a time! We hope to see you soon! Go Bates!

Hi everyone!! What’s up! How are you?!? My name is Andrew and I hail from wayyyyy down south in a town called Titusville — once voted the eighth most boring city in Florida. (But we do have NASA! And five McDonald’s!) Anyway, I am so thrilled to be leading SURFING 1 with my rad co-leader Ellie!!! I learned to surf when I was a youngin’ and, after standing up on a surfboard for the first time, I absolutely fell in love. (Which is exactly what will happen to you on this AESOP!!) Around campus you can find me browsing www.surfer.com or living out the dream of playing steel drums professionally after college. Otherwise, I am a rising senior Economics major, Rhetoric minor, frequent visitor of Ladd Library, and Carpenter for the Theater Department. My skills include using LinkedIn unprofessionally and not wearing my glasses when I really should be wearing my glasses. But, enough about me, I can’t wait to meet you all! No matter your level of surfing ability, if you wanna chill on the beaches of Maine and/or learn how to shred, SURFING 1 is your trip!! See ya soon!

Surfing II Leaders: Jasper Beardslee and Chloé Lo Faro

Hey yall. My co leader is Chloé and shes a swiss miss (part NYC but we don’t talk about that). Both of us are sophomores and can’t wait to introduce everyone to Bates! Chloe can skii like a badass, loves to read (#nerd), and can’t wait to surf with all our aesoppers. Her hobbies are sailing, skiing, and annoying Jasper. Chloe loves to study hard and play harder. We climbed on AESOP last year and she rocked! (get it) We became great friends and can’t wait to hang with all our ‘soppers in that toasty Maine summer water! She’s psyched to get in that tropical Maine water and shred with y’all. Get ready to learn to shred and snag some tasty waves! YEW! -Jasper

Hiya AESOPers!!! I’m here to tell you about my AWESOME, hilarious, super sendy and shreddy co-leader Jasper. Jasper comes from the sunny paradise of Miami but is immune to Maine water temps (seriously- he goes surfing in FEBRUARY), probably because he’s actually from Massachusetts (don’t tell him i told u). He is a surf gOd and can’t wait to catch some gnarly waves with you guys. Jasper and I rocked on during Rock Climbing AESOP last year and became the best of best friends soooooo get ready to meet some amazing people on AESOP 2019!!! When he’s not shredding the gnar you can find him hitting the climbing wall, ripping the park on his snowboard, and saving the world with Eco-Reps. Jasper loves the ocean and all the lovely critters in it- if you talk to him about marine science and he’ll love u 4evaaaa. Jasper has a rad taste in music and loves to aux so get pumped to BLAST spanish tunes while we go a la playaaaa!! Jasper is a big big fan of glazed donuts and eats about 4 for bfest everyday. When you get here you’ll be able to spot him riding his skateboard with his classic striped t-shirt, converse, and Cuban coffee combo (pls say hi we’re PSYCHED to meet all of you:))))) Get ready for the bestttttttt 4 days of your life!!!! Peace, luv, and shred -chloé (&jasper)

Rock Climbing I Leaders: Kirstin Koepnick and Mitch Willsey 

(As written by Mitch) Howdy ya’ll! My name is Kirstin and I’m from Nashville, Tennessee. I am a rising junior at Bates and have literally one-uped every person at Bates by triple majoring in Math, Physics, and Environmental Politics. I also had a grilled cheese for lunch today and it was delicious. Anyways, were I am from there aren’t many rocks, only guitars, so I also like to spend a lot of my time in ColoRADo, where there are SO MANY FREAKING ROCKS. Colorado helped me learn to love the mountains and since I’ve been at Bates I have learned to walk up them like Wile E. Coyote, except when I do it, I have a rope #safetythird (For any of you curious as to why safety is third looking good comes first and feeling good comes second). The first time I went rock climbing was on this AESOP trip at the start of my first year (it was actually led by Mitch) and look at me now, leading the same trip beside my best friend EVER. Hope to see all you excited Bobkittens soon! #ROCKON

(As written by Kirstin) What’s poppin’ Bobkitten. My name is Mitch and I’m from Connecticut! I am a rising senior (LET’S GOOOOOO) and a chemistry major (bomb diggity). So basically… I like carbon. Like a lot. I’d make a joke, but I only have them periodically #nerdstatus. So here’s the thing: as much as I like carbon, I like rocks more. I like hugging rocks, climbing rocks, skipping rocks (well it’s more like throwing rocks into water…), you get the jist. This will be the THIRD time I have lead this rock climbing trip and the SECOND time with my bestest-est-est friend ever in the whole wide world K-dawg (Kirstin). I can scale any rock situation (including the one, the only Johnson) with only my right middle toe. Yeah–that’s right, you heard me. I’m cool. Well, I could go on and on about how cool I am, but I’ll save that for the trip that I’ll see YOU on, dearest Bobkitten! #ROCKITUP

Rock Climbing II Leaders: Danielle Ward and Zach Farhm

Danielle is an average height and also has a kind soul. Danielle loves to rock climb! She also loves to sit in a hammock and cheer people on as they rock climb. She also loves to eat snacks, like cereal, while she sits in a hammock and cheers people on as they rock climb. She also loves to chat with friends about her English and environmental studies classes and share her snacks while she sits in a hammock and cheers people on as they rock climb. She also loves to soak up the sun (which reminds her of her home in NJ) while she chats with friends and shares her snacks as she sits in a hammock and cheers people on as they rock climb.

Zach is a tall man with a kind soul. He calls Marlborough, NH home and lives with his two younger sisters, two older parents, and two pups. He is a rising senior who is majoring in physics!! YAY physics! Zach studied abroad in a beautiful place called Dunedin, which is in New Zealand and he is excited to share stories and photos if folks are interested in hearing them! Zach loves to ski, hike, and enjoy the great outdoors in his free time, which is just part of the reason why he is so excited for this trip!

Biking in Acadia Leaders: Jesse Tallerman and Essie Martin

Hey guys, I’m Jesse, a junior sociology major from NYC. At Bates I am always trying to have fun adventures on and of campus; from fires on mount David, to skiing, surfing or rock climbing. I love getting outside and having fun. I had so much fun on my AESOP trip and I am so excited for the adventure we’re going to have!!!

Essie Martin hails from the great town of Damariscotta, Maine. Born Esther Louise-Elizabeth Francine Martin circa 1998, she is a child of the ocean and has long maintained a deep passion for its flora and fauna, namely through singing to periwinkles. She is terrified of roundabouts and likes other people’s babies. Ostensibly a senior citizen, Essie finds comfort in the little things in life: Mud, bugs, buttons, knitting, cribbage, Jane Austen, Downton Abbey, Glenn Miller, Swing Music, and card games. But don’t let that fool you; this wild child is a staunch environmentalist and she will let it be known. Essie is a prominent member of the EcoReps, Cold Front (ladies ultimate frisbee team), a resident of the Eco-Justice house, and a passionate Geology Major. This girl LOVES rocks. Last winter she hurt her hip but that didn’t stop her from playing ultimate frisbee and enjoying the great Maine outdoors. Plants in her room? Check. Homemade clothes? You know it. Catch Essie singing with abandon in commons, making high fashion statements with recycled material or frolicking in the fine Lewiston dew in the early hours of the morning. She can’t wait for Biking in Acadia!

Mountain Biking Leaders: Leo Watson and Kaelyn Woods

SUUUP AESOPERS!! My name is Leo Gene Watson THE THIRD and I am a senior here at Bates. I hail from the great state of Indiana. At Bates I am always running around trying to juggle all the things I do. I am member of the baseball team and love hitting dingers. Some people say I love school a little too much because I am a Biology and Economics double major. I am pre-med too so someday you can call me Dr. Watson. Outside of hitting dingers on the baseball field, I also aspire to be Backcountry.com’s largest buyer of all things GEAR! Bike gear, ski gear, climbing gear, surfing gear, fishing gear, you name it I got it. I love being outside and exploring the great outdoors, I mean what is not to love. My gear purchases will tell you a lot about my most favorite outdoor activities. Skiing is my passion, along with finding all the good rocks to climb, and all the fun waves to surf. But most of all, I have been developing a deep love for mountain biking during my years in Maine. I have been getting so stoked to lead this trip since I did mountain biking my freshman year and had the time of my life. I can’t wait to meet all of you and take you on the most amazing adventure around Kingdom Trails in the lovely Green Mountain State! Get ready for the best week of your life!!

Hey Bobkittens! I am Kaelyn Woods and I am sooo excited to lead your ASOEP Trip! We are going to have so much fun ping ponging through the forest of East Burke Vermont on some two wheeled ‘Chines!! East Burke is East Coast ENDURO, beginner trails to expert jumps and berms. Artfully crafted dirt pathways through the Vermont woods. It’s going to be FLOWY and open to ALL SKILL LEVELS! I am a Senior here at Bates and an Environmental Studies major. I spawn from New Gloucester, ME where animals are included in the town population. Speaking of animals, I am on the Nordic Skiing team at Bates and not even the boys can keep up with me (#nattys)! I grew up skiing and skiing has brought me all around the country! I spend my summers romping around the peaks of Sun Valley Idaho learning how to go fast. I am very excited to swap out my narrow road bike tires for some wide knobby tread. I am so excited to meet all of you guys! This trip isn’t all crazy gnarr when we aren’t playing with bikes we will have an awesome time hanging around Vermont. We will have some good times camping, eating delicious food and chilling out hardcore. To all my ladies out there this trip is all about you let’s get it!!!!!!!