Youth Inspiration - Youth Programs, i2P Youth Ambassadors

Youth Expeditions

What: Modeled after our world class expeditions, Youth Expeditions serve to engage youth by active participation in an expedition. This program enables youth to experience adventure travel to some of the World’s most beautiful, inspiring, and fragile locations, as well as local community-based ‘expedition’ events. During these expeditions Youth Ambassadors will communicate with classrooms and students all over the world - sharing their experiences and inspiring their peers.

Why: To push young leaders beyond themselves to engage other places, people, and cultures and witness firsthand the impact of the environment on people and people on the environment. By learning through direct experience and service, these young leaders will be credible ambassadors, capable of inspiring and leading their peers to sustainable practices.

How: i2P will co-create adventures with elite athletes, experienced adventurers and collaborate with the best youth oriented adventure travel companies. We will partner with sporting event companies, education organizations, and philanthropic organizations to organize local service learning adventures. Once the destination is announced the i2P team will immediately open the application process. The on-line application link will be on the i2P home page. The i2P science and education coordinators will notify any associations and students groups that might have an interest in applying. Candidates will complete the on-line application, sign and fax appropriate waivers, and wait for the application deadline to arrive. Once the selection process has been completed, i2P will announce the Youth Ambassadors that will participate in the adventure. All i2P adventures will fit the i2P adventure definition and i2P will subsidize all costs for these Youth Ambassadors.

Upcoming Youth Expeditions:

When	Description
November 2008	SOI/i2P Youth Antarctic Expedition
September 2009	World Expedition Stage 1: Baffin Island
April 2010	World Expedition Stage 2: Tunisia
Summer 2010	SOI/i2P Youth Arctic Adventure

Youth Leadership Training/Camps

What: Seminars, mentoring, and instruction for young leaders concerned with issues of environmental and human sustainability (including youth involved in i2P Youth Expeditions). Camps include discussions on healthy active lifestyle, seminars, adventure based activities and special guests. i2P Ambassadors will be on hand to teach campers different skills and share unique experiences that illustrate why we all can reach beyond our perceived limits.

Why: To engage and empower young minds to become effective peer-to-peer ambassadors of social and environmental issues.

How: i2P’s world class adventurers will speak and conduct seminars inspiring leadership seminars through school speaking tours, community events and our Leader Seminar Camps. These camps will provide attendees with an adventure based experience that will include team building, educational seminars, round table discussions, problem solving and of course... a weekend of adventure! In addition, i2P will train, mentor and teach young adventurer/leaders in public speaking, peer-to-peer teaching, and the coordination of sustainability-oriented philanthropic initiatives.

Upcoming Youth Leader Seminars:

Sept 2008 - Ontario, Canada
May 2009 - California, U.S.A.
Nov 2009 - Ontario, Canada
Feb 2010
May 2010
Nov 2010
May 2011
Aug 2011
Nov 2011

Youth Adventure-Learning and Inspiration Resource

What: A web-based sustainability resource that will include social networking, educational resources for educators and young leaders, inspiring stories of adventures.

Why: Young people rely primarily on the internet for social networking, learning, and entertainment. I2P’s website will be a multi-faceted resource for sustainability conversation, information, and inspiration. Both our youth leaders and adult mentors and educators will find this to be a compelling resource that they will want to visit again and again.

How: i2P will design and manage unique websites for each adventure pre, during, and post expedition. These websites will be an interactive and educational resource that will be linked to many social and sustainability based sites.

I2P Expeditions

What: A series of first-ever adventures featuring world-class athletes exploring socially and environmentally sensitive regions. These dramatic adventures will be captured on film for distribution on television, the internet, and our various media partners.

Why: Engage young people by inviting them to participate online through live websites. In the process, create a media presence that is inspiring, entertaining, and raises awareness of social environmental issues in the adventure region. These expeditions will also provide a fundraising platform for i2P’s youth programs. Each adventure will serve as the penultimate model for socially responsible expeditions, inspiring the adventurer in all young people and teaching them to always challenge their perceived limitations.

Lindsey Andersen

I am senior at Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Illinois. Ever since I was a little girl I have had a love for adventure and an unrelenting passion for the sciences. I live with my 3 dogs, my parents, and up until July of 2008, I had a 29 year old brother who I lost to a tragic accident. My brother was always the one who told me I could do anything if I worked hard, and I hold that close to my heart each and every day. My life revolves around my community service and volunteer work, music and research. If I could pay for it, I would honestly be a professional student for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, I do not think that will be possible so I am going for the next best thing: a biochemist.

I have interned at Fermilabs (particle accelerator laboratory in Batavia, IL) working on the tevatron (particle collider) and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Last year, I served as a chemistry teacher assistant. Obviously science is a huge part of my life, so you can imagine when the day before my 18th birthday I received a phone call saying I was accepted for the scholarship position, it was probably one of my most proud moments of my life. Ever since my parents and I have been getting ready for this amazing expedition, and quite honestly-- I talk about it to anyone that will listen. I put in many hours into studying in preparation for this trip so I could go in fully educated and ready to study the South Pole!

I applied for this extraordinary expedition with the hope of learning so I could make a difference in the natural world I love so much. Even with my obvious love for science, it is still incredibly important that I use my passion to help serve a larger purpose than just me as an individual. This voyage was an opportunity that few people could ever even dream of, and here I was--- prepared for the single most incredible experience of my life. It is my goal now to help the natural world through my passion for science and going to Antarctica was the perfect opportunity to begin something that I plan to pursue for the rest of my life. I am 100% sure that myself, the other much-deserving scholarship candidate (Dylan Polacek) and the other individuals attending will be forever changed...for the better.

Dylan Polacek

I am a junior at Boca Raton High School. I am in my second year of Marine Science and have taken classes from Environmental Science to Physics and Chemistry. I am on the Lacrosse and Cross Country teams at my school. I have three sisters and two dogs, and I maintain a saltwater aquarium in my room. I have lived in Florida all my life and always within a few miles of the ocean. Therefore, most of my interests center around the water. I am a certified scuba diver, love to fish and love roller coasters.

My love for adventure and science is exactly why I filled out the application for the Antarctic Expedition. I have never seen snow, so this expedition will be quite the adventure. When I read more about the trip and what we will be doing, I immediately put all my efforts into obtaining this scholarship. When I got a phone call after lacrosse practice one day saying I had been chosen, I could not believe my ears.

Since then, I have been researching and reading about the Antarctic and planning for the trip. Just recently, I got together what I need to wear. Because I have never been in snow before, I needed help preparing. I borrowed clothes from a friend and I bought a parka and boots. I also needed to buy long underwear, because I definitely was not planning on borrowing those. Although it is summer in Antarctica and the warmest temperatures are on the peninsula, it is still supposed to be between -10 and 10 degrees.

If given the opportunity to go on an expedition from Ushuaia, Argentina (the southernmost city in the world) through the rough seas of the Drake Passage, to the extreme continent of Antarctica, I doubt anyone would hesitate answering. The knowledge gained from this trip will be priceless. However, for me personally, the reason this expedition is so important is that this is what I want to do with my life. It is my dream to pursue environmental science as a career. This expedition will allow me to apply my passion and experience the beauty of Antarctica hands on. I am sure this expedition will be lifechanging for me and the others involved.

I want to thank everyone at i2P for changing my life.

Kathleen Merritt

Kathleen is a very energetic, young Inuk who grew up in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. She has been drawn to learn more about her culture and about the environment that surrounds her. Her drive to become closer with the ancient Inuit culture has led her to become a skilled Throat Singer and performs regularly to raise awareness of this ancient art. Through her studies at Nunavut Sivuniksavut, she has become very interested in the changing Arctic. Over the last year, she has learned a lot about changes the Inuit have gone through in the past and how the changes have had some negative impacts on Inuit life, simply because it happened too fast and Inuit as a people we're not prepared. She has realized that global warming, will affect her culture and their way of life. People in the north will come to experience just as much change as Inuit in the past, and the changes are already taking shape. She wants to help raise the awareness of the impending affects to the northern people and prepare them for the coming years. Kathleen sees this expedition as another learning tool, a way to expand her knowledge of the reality that Northern Canada faces. Her goal is to come back from the expedition and share her memories and experiences with other young Inuit, as well as other Canadians. She feels, it is important that people are educated about the world around us. Kathleen is confident this journey will be an experience that she utilizes in the future to inspire and educate those she comes in contact with.

Thomsen Dhont

Thomsen is a 20-year old Métis hailing from Yellowknife, NT who pursues his Olympic dreams full-time as a professional cross country skier based out of Whistler, BC. Since the age of 17 he has been co-owner of Mountain Bike Madness, a summer day camp based out of Yellowknife. The camp focuses on getting kids ages 9-13 outdoors, having a great time, and living healthy lifestyles. Although school work is currently taking a backseat in his life, Thomsen continues to dabble in part-time correspondence studies, with a general interest in the Sciences. Although he specializes in races less than 3 minutes in length, Thomsen got his first taste of Ultra racing in March 2009 by winning the diamond in the 3-day, 135km Rock and Ice Ultra K-Rock ski race and plans to compete in similar events in the future. With a keen interest in the environment and a strong connection to the North, Thomsen is extremely excited to share the experience of hiking the Akshayuk Pass this fall.

Amanda Cobbs-Russell

Amanda is a hard working college student with dreams of venturing into the non-profit world upon graduation. Even though she lost her mother at an early age it has not stopped her from achieving her life goals. With support from her father and her boyfriend Marcus she dedicates herself to her studies and her passions. She feels her life experiences have instilled a deep love for life, exploration, and an insatiable thirst to do the best she can to make this world a better place. She loves simple things, simple joys, and little acts of kindness. She has been called an “old soul with a young heart.” Amanda believes through her soul that she can be the change she wishes to see in the world. She majors in conservation biology at the University of California Riverside and works as volunteer at the Riverside Humane Society as a cat and dog socializer. Between quarters at school she works at UC Riverside in dentrification and soil/water quality sciences. She loves to skateboard, kayak, swim, rock climb, and play team sports. She is a southern California native with a love for the north and the frigid cold!

Tamara Banks

Tamara is a lifelong athlete, competing in gymnastics since early childhood. As a young teenager she competed at the provincial level in trampoline and gymnastics and is now continuing her passion through coaching. The vigorous training and conditioning over the years has allowed her to develop an extremely strong work ethic. The countless hours of hard work taught her how to push beyond her perceived limits to achieve what she thought was unreachable. This dedication showed when her best friend was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. Tamara and three others championed an effort and raised $30,000 to help the family with medical expenses. Through their efforts they helped the family through a very difficult and trying time. Her friend was able to receive a liver transplant and is now fully recovered. Tamara is truly honored to be part of the i2P Baffin Island Expedition and she feels this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. She desires to learn and experience life to its fullest, to learn new things and to see the world. She also has a commitment to convey her experiences to others, and in particular her peers in a way that engages them in setting out on their own exploration of the diverse nature of our world.

Sandi Nypaver

Sandi is co-founder of a student volunteer organization at Lake Erie College called “Students Making a difference”. The group focuses on volunteer activities around the community, and their goal is to inspire not only the student body at school but also the surrounding community to help others in need. Life has not always come easy for her, growing up for most of her life in a single parent family she has learned the value of hard work and dedication. She is a natural athlete and is currently a member of the Women’s basketball team for her school. Recently, she has found a passion for endurance sports, competing in triathlons and a ½ marathon where she placed second in her age group. She feels as though the challenges of the Baffin expedition will be a tremendous learning experience that will help her in all aspects of her life.