2015-16
September 2015
Alice Read
Alice is currently a graduate student in Health and Human Performance pursuing a MS in Exercise Science. She joined Campus Recreation in spring 2015 working for both Fitness Programs and the Fitness & Recreation Center Facility Staff. Alice contributes so much to Campus Recreation, providing excellent customer service in the day to day operations, as well as sharing her extensive knowledge of strength and conditioning with her personal training clients and class participants. Alice uses her motivational and technical expertise to help her clients achieve their fitness goals. She also helps customers at the desk of the fitness center and leads HIC and Active for Life classes . Alice volunteers at the Athletic Performance Center helping UM’s student athletes reach their peak performance in the weight room and on the field. As a recipient of the Washington Foundation EdReady Scholoarship, Alice mentors students interested in the EdReady Montana program, helping them improve their math skills. When she can find time in her busy schedule, Alice enjoys fly fishing, hiking, skiing, and camping.
October 2015
Emily Kipp and David Evans
Spring semester 2015, Campus Recreation’s personal training program reached an all-time record, seeing an increase in business by almost 300%! The most impressive fact about that record is that it was achieved primarily by two of Campus Rec’s dynamic trainers, Emily and David. Both individuals contribute their own unique skill-set to the training staff, bringing an exceptional level of fitness expertise to the Campus Recreation Department. Thank you both for your hard work!
Emily has an insatiable passion for recreating in the mountains, which act as her playground to push her mind and body to new limits and feel inspired to be strong, both mentally and physically. Her love of the outdoors inspires her to share a bigger fitness picture with her clients; a notion that fitness lives beyond the ‘ ;gym’ and there are endless reasons to pursue fitness goals. Her big picture attitude and energetic personality consistently motivate her clients to achieve their goals, and they love her for it!
Outside of the gym, Emily works at The Cycling House as a cycling ride guide to provide fully pampered, week long training camps. Winter camps are based in Tuscon, AZ, as well as, Slovang, CA. Summer camps venture to Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, North Carolina, and the California Coast. Her lifestyle and profession keep her fit and ready to jump into races of many types; marathons, triathlons (including Ironman), ultra trail running, cross-country mountain biking, cyclocross, and stage road racing.
David is a US Army Combat Veteran who has completed 3 tours in the Middle East. Thank you David for your service! While in the military, David was responsible for planning and implementing the physical fitness training for his Company. After the military, David returned to life in Montana with a goal of attending  ;the University of Montana to pursue a BS in exercise science and a career as a personal trainer. He joined the Campus Rec personal training staff Sept 2014 and has been an integral part of the department ever since. David’s clients praise him for helping them achieve their goals through creative and challenging routines.
November 2015
Neil Moore
Neil Moore is a senior majoring in Wildlife Biology with a minor in Climate Change. Neil has worked at the Outdoor Program for 2 years. Since he has been here he has taught introductory and intermediate climbing courses, worked at the climbing wall and rental desk, lead backpacking and hiking trips, been a co-instructor on a week-long Spring Break trip to the Utah desert, and has served as the climbing wall student manager for over a year. He has received his Wilderness First Responder while working here, and volunteered with the Search and Rescue department in Marin County, California for 3 years prior to coming to UM. He is a natural leader, an excellent teacher, and a true adventurer!
In addition to being very involved with the Outdoor Program at Campus Recreation, he is also very passionate and involved with wildlife biology and research. He served as a mountain lion and mule deer research technician the summer of 2015, tracked moose through mountainous and snowy terrain in Washington for winter break in 2014, and for the summer of 2014 Neil served as a research assistant in Manitoba Canada monitoring and tracking polar bears! On campus he was an Ecological Representative (Eco Rep) for a year where he promoted sustainability on campus by organizing and leading educational trips and events. He is also a member of the Davidson Honors College here at the University of Montana, and was awarded the Herman William Gabriel Scholarship through the College of Forestry and Conservation. This is an award given for academic achievement and dedication to natural resource conservation. Neil also published a natural history note in Herpetological Review about reptiles and amphibians.
Neil clearly goes above and beyond in all aspects of his life. When he is not working or studying hard, he can be found pushing himself mountain biking, climbing, hunting or competing in Spartan Races in the US and Canada, or checking out his camera footage of mountain lions in the Missoula area!
December 2015
Kellan Clark
Kellan worked in the Fitness & Recreation Center, providing excellent customer service at the front and equipment desks. He graduated in December 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology and was a Teaching Assistant for Intro to Organic Chemistry and Human Anatomy. Kellan also volunteered for Big Brothers Big Sisters, partners in home care hospice, and was a YMCA basketball coach. He will be entering the DDS program at the University of Utah School of Dentistry in Salt Lake City this year. Kellan is an avid trout slayer on the blue ribbons of big sky country, a snowshoer, and beer connoisseur.
January 2016
Helena Myler
Helena Myler is a Senior majoring in Elementary Education with a minor in Psychology. Helena started working at the Grizzly Pool in June 2012. She started as a lifeguard and in July of the same year received her Water Safety Instructor Certification and began teaching swim lessons as well. In January of 2014 Helena took on the role of Head Instructor and plays a key role in the Grizzly Pool swim lesson program. This last year Helena obtained a Lifeguard Instructor certification and began teaching the First Aid/CPR/AED classes at the Grizzly Pool as well as having a key role in training and certifying the Lifeguard staff.
Aside from her involvement at the Grizzly Pool, Helena also volunteers with the Flagship after school program and helps in a 5th grade classroom.
Helena has great customer service skills and has the ability to trouble shoot problems at the front desk. Whether it be her elementary students, swim lesson instructors, lifeguards, or students in her First Aid/CPR/AED classes, Helena has a passion for teaching.
In her free time Helena enjoys traveling, reading, horseback riding, sailing, music, sewing, knitting, and, crocheting.
February 2016
Boston Wakeham
Boston is a junior at the UM and is majoring in Parks Tourism Recreation Management and Resource Conservation in the College of Forestry and Conservation. He has only worked at the Outdoor Program for one year and in that time he has jumped in full force. He was a student in the intermediate climbing class and then took a bike maintenance class in the spring of 2015. And at the end of the spring semester, he started working at the Outdoor Program.
In his time here at the Outdoor Program he has worked in the rental shop and has since been promoted as the rental student manager, he has worked at the climbing wall as a monitor, he has started working fundamentals of rock climbing classes, he has become a certified AMGA Climbing Wall Instructor, he was a leader for F.W.E. (Freshman Wilderness Experience) and helped with much of the planning before F.W.E. started. He also helped teach the semester long Outdoor Recreation Living Learning Community class in Aber Hall this fall.
Outside of the Outdoor Program, Boston has worked 3 years with the Montana Conservation Corps, 2 of which were leading crews before coming to the University, he is the treasurer of the UM society for Ecological restoration, coordinates volunteer opportunities, handles the budget of the club and also coordinates the annual fundraiser event by selling native plants at the farmers market.
Boston plans to finish his degree in PTRM and get a graduate assistantship with an Outdoor Program at a University while pursuing his Masters in Business and Administration. His hope is to work with college age students through running an outdoor program at a University or to manage a region of a conservation corps. He wants to get people outside so they can have powerful experiences and help them develop a stewardship for public lands . Boston is goal oriented, organized and a hard worker.
March 2016
Kim Covill
Kim Covill worked at the UM Outdoor Program for 3 years while she was in graduate school getting her Masters of Arts in Literature, focused specifically in Eco Criticism. During that time she was a lead instructor for whitewater kayaking, cross country skiing, backcountry ski camping, week-long spring break backpacking trips to Capital Reef National Park in Utah, as well as backpacking trips in Glacier National Park. She also worked in our rentals department and did a stellar job overall. Kim’s mix of technical expertise in backcountry travel with the University of Montana Outdoor Program, her experience working with the National Outdoor Leadership School, and her academic background made her a real asset to the many students and staff that had the opportunity to learn from or work with her. Not only was she good in the field, she was also good at maintaining a big picture awareness while working well with others. Being that Kim was a grad student and many of our student staff are undergraduates, our staff really looked up to Kim and always learned a lot from her. She was a great role model, while remaining humble and open to learning from anyone. She was a team player, and connected with people easily. We are sorry that Kim is leaving us due to her graduating, but we are also excited for her to be taking on a new job this fall working as the Assistant Director at St. Lawrence University, a program she was also a student in many years ago. We wish Kim the best of luck and appreciate all of her contributions to the Outdoor Program.
April 2016
Elli Sullivan 
Elli Sullivan began working for Campus Recreation as a front and equipment desk employee. Her personal passion for fitness inspired her to pursue additional opportunities at Campus Rec and she decided to become a fitness instructor. Fall Semester Elli began shadowing other fitness instructors and progressed to team teaching. In October, she traveled to Bozeman to participate in the Pink Gloves Boxing training camp and obtain her certification. Over the winter, Elli helped organize and conduct two Pink Gloves Boxing demo classes and was a major contributor to helping spread the word about this new class offering at Campus Rec. Elli has gone beyond the call of duty for any new instructor. She has stepped into the role of a solo instructor for a new class offering, has helped promote Pink Gloves Boxing via social media, word of mouth, and has worked many hours on her own time practicing and learning the material for this unique class. She has come a long way these past 8 months in her goal to become a fitness instructor and has been the major contributing factor for a successful first semester of Pink Gloves Boxing at Campus Rec. Thank you, Elli!
In addition to Elli’s contributions to Campus Recreation, she is a motivated student just finishing her sophomore year at UM. Elli is pursuing a degree in International Business and Management Information Systems and will further her studies next Spring Semester with a study abroad program in Spain. She participates in multiple student groups, St. Jude Up ‘Til Dawn, Global Leadership Initiative and Montana Information Systems Association (MISA).
May 2016
Jordan Briski
Jordan recently graduated from the University of Montana with honors for degrees in exercise science and psychology. As a student, she was employed with both Campus Recreation and ASUM Child care. Jordan worked for Intramural sports with Campus Recreation as the Student Manager. In this role she has been influential in hiring, training and evaluating officials among her other duties. She has ensured a consistency among officials regarding Campus Recreation and Intramural policies, rules and procedures. As the Intramural Student Manager, Jordan has been asked to take on a number of roles and responsibilities where she has been successful while incorporating her own management style. In her final days with Campus Recreation, Jordan was in charge of all management responsibilities. Over her college career she has been very busy, completing a double major in four years, while maintaining two jobs, along with various volunteer positions and always willing to take on additional tasks.
Working as the Student Manager for Intramurals with both officials and participants, there is little recognition, appreciation or empathy for everything that goes into the position and all that is asked of it. Jordan has ensured the success of all intramural programs in her time with Campus Recreation and the mark that she has left has not gone unnoticed. She is headed back to Alaska this summer to work for a fish processor where she has worked to support herself through college. After that, travel, maybe graduate school; whatever it is with the work ethic she has, she will be successful.
June 2016
Spencer Keeton
Spencer began working for the Grizzly Pool in the summer of 2012. Starting in maintenance, Spencer’s charismatic personality shown through and he went through the training to become a swim instructor. Spencer excelled at the higher level instruction, and his constant effort to learn new skills brought him to become a lifeguard. Spencer’s attention to detail and leadership skills earned him a spot as Assistant Head Instructor. In 2015, Spencer got certified as a life guard instructor, enabling him to teach CPR/AED and first aid classes as well as the lifeguard classes. He also became a certified pool operator and moved into the head lifeguard position in charge of training the staff at the Grizzly Pool. Spencer also is a coach for the Adult Coached Swim program and an Instructor for the AquaFit class as well as an instructor for the Key Log program.
In four years Spencer has worked in all areas at the Grizzly Pool. Spencer plays a key role in the daily operation at the Grizzly Pool. He provides excellent customer service and strives to make the Grizzly Pool a positive experience for everyone.
Spencer is a sophomore at the University of Montana and is currently undeclared.
In his free time you can find Spencer at Blue Mountain playing disc golf. He was also named the Garden City Flyers Volunteer of the Year for 2016.
July 2016
Raynee Clairmont
Raynee has been a part of our Youth Camps staff for all four years of the program’ ;s history. She exemplifies what it means to be a part of the student development aspect of our camp. She started out as an enthusiastic yet timid counselor and blossomed into a confident and assertive one. This evolution landed her a lead counselor role in her third season, followed by becoming one of our assistant directors in her fourth year.
One of Raynee's best qualities as a counselor is her commitment in assuring every child thrives at camp each day. She has the ability to figure out the needs of almost any camper, how to get them engaged, and fall in love with camp and recreation. Then, to top it off, she has passed these skills onto other counselors while mentoring them as the assistant director. The only downside with Raynee is that she is moving on to her professional career as a teacher and will no longer be a member of our Youth Camps staff .
Raynee has her M.A. in curriculum and instruction at the University of Montana and a bachelor's degree in forestry. She is starting a new position this fall at Potomac School where she will be teaching seventh grade, second through sixth P.E. and music and art . Last spring she started her teaching career at Dayton Elementary School where she taught second and third grade, third through sixth grade math and first through second grade science. She clearly is capable of wearing many hats! Prior to teaching, she gained experience working with children from working at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Visitor Center, volunteering with the Flagship program, and working as a camp counselor for the Montana Natural Resources Youth Camp. She also actively plays basketball, volleyball, and softball. Raynee was selected as an all-state high school athlete in basketball, volleyball, and track and has played in several state-wide tournaments.
August 2016
Boston Wakeham
Boston has continued going above and beyond for the Outdoor Program. He was nominated in February as “employee of the month,” but it was an obvious pick for Boston to get nominated again for the month of August. Boston loves taking on challenges and being in leadership roles. He consistently looks for ways to develop professionally and to grow in the outdoor recreation field. He has done an outstanding job as the student rentals manager and this year he took on another leadership opportunity as the student coordinator for the Freshman Wilderness Experience this year. He worked behind the scenes from the start with F. W. E. from the spring leader training, to organizing the gear and logistics before the event to the leader training day and organizing all of the student participants and leaders while they were on the ground here in August. He also had the opportunity to help out with administrative roles by talking to parents, helping to run an evacuation, etc. Due to his efforts and involvement with FWE, it was more organized than it has ever been. He will also be the teaching assistant for the Living Learning Community course again this fall. We know Boston will go far, and we are happy to be part of his path.