It was not until one Bachelor’s of Science in geology, 12 months in early childhood education, and five years of flirting with a comedy career later did Benji feel the undeniable itch for the passion, self-discovery and community he felt as a student at VOBS. Benji was not done with Outward Bound. In 2018 he returned to Outward Bound. He committed to full-time work in 2020, spending summers paddling around the Minnesota Northwoods and falls/winters stomping through the west Texas desert.

Collaboration is a big part of Benji’s educational philosophy, seeing himself as the student as much as the teacher. Expeditions are constant opportunities to learn about yourself, through and with others. Whether he is impulsively redesigning his curriculum, thanks to an acute moment of student wisdom, or encouraging his students to express their feelings through an improvised play, Benji is always seeking to draw on the creativity of others.

When he is not expeditioning you can find Benji practicing his calligraphy, writing poems to his friends, studying a map of the world, and yes… still flirting with comedy.

He ended up applying for the internship at VOBS and has now worked for VOBS since 2019, at both the Ely, MN and Redford, TX bases.

Thomas loves the sense of adventure and purpose that comes with expeditions.

Thomas stays at VOBS in large part because of the continued challenge and growth everyone in this community – students and staff alike – experience. There is something about spending time in the wilderness that gives people permission to let their walls down and open up in ways that you don't see in “everyday life.” Thomas believes that these moments of challenge and authenticity that come with wilderness travel are what make Outward Bound expeditions a life-changing experience. 

When not working, you can find Thomas paddling his whitewater canoe, playing board games, fetch with his puppy, or scheming ways to get his friends to come on an adventure with him.

she took an opportunity to study abroad for a semester in Madagascar. She graduated summa cum laude in 2016. 

After graduation, Julia eventually settled in Jackson, Wyoming, where she spent a few years field instructing for Teton Science Schools and ski instructing at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. 

Julia began working at VOBS in the summer of 2018. In 2021, she committed to working winters in Ely where she discovered the joy of dogsledding. She has been working year round at VOBS since. As an instructor, she is excited about curriculum, snow, dogs, sea kayaks and learning with students. She loves to share her love of the natural world—including local ecology—with students. 

When Julia is not working, you can find her trail running, knitting, skiing or playing with dogs. 

at Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School for a year before returning to VOBS and committing to year round work in Ely, Minnesota and Redford, Texas. Yoshie's experiences with VOBS also inspired her to co-found Wheels for Mental Wellness, a cycling trip across America to raise awareness around mental health. In 2018, Yoshie and fellow Outward Bound instructor Catherine Dyer spent 54-days cycling from San Diego to St. Augustine, Florida. Along the way they conducted interviews and wrote blog posts about a myriad of mental health issues. This expedition challenged Yoshie to apply the skills she had learned at Outward Bound in a new context and further informed her love for expeditionary learning.

Outward Bound has opened a world of challenge, adventure, and discovery that Yoshie never knew existed as a teenager. Her time at Outward Bound has informed her values and given her invaluable tools to communicate with the people she cares about. She is honored to be a part of imparting those same experiences and tools to the students she works with and supporting them through challenge and adventure. She learns something new from each expedition and is excited to keep growing and challenging herself alongside her students.

After graduating from Loyola, Conner took a short break from VOBS to work for two years in Sweden. While living abroad, Conner learned countless things about herself and the world, and was challenged tremendously by the work involved in adjusting to a new culture. Though thousands of miles away, Conner still felt connected to her work at Outward Bound and eventually felt the pull to return back stateside.

Since 2017, Conner has split her time between Minnesota and Colorado, spending her winters in Aspen teaching skiing and summers at VOBS. So far, her passion for flying down mountains on skis has not been enough to pull her away from summers in Ely, where the growth she sees in an Outward Bound student is unparalleled compared to any other program she has experienced. Conner feels passionately that the wilderness is the best classroom and has stayed with Outward Bound for eight years because as of now, she hasn’t found a better place to be.

as an intern, instructor, course director, trainer and staffer. Notable escapades include crossing the continent by canoe with her sweetheart, navigating the nuances of off-grid living on 60-acres and recent forays into teaching yoga. Since 2011, her professional focus has been growing the Community Harm Repair Program with the Restorative Justice Project in Maine. She is psyched to return to VOBS to check-in with self, place, students and staff.

Justin decided to put camp on the back burner and stumbled upon the Voyageur Outward Bound school where he started working as a summer and winter intern in 2018. Justin immediately fell in love with the winter program, and the impact it has on the students that come through. His passion for mushing and leading winter expeditions kept him in the blistering cold of Ely, Minnesota where he has spent the past six winters instructing, course directing ,and training dogs. When Justin is not working, you can find him at a yard sale on an early Friday morning, or playing a game of ultimate frisbee with some friends.

After graduating she began her Outward Bound journey, first working with VOBS in 2018 as an Intern at Homeplace.

She returned to VOBS summer of 2022 after various jaunts, including working for NYC Outward Bound Schools, spending a summer guiding in Alaska, and teaching at a forest preschool in central New York. When not at the St. Paul office or in the field with students, you can find Claire riding her bike around Minneapolis, hiking with her dog Mud, and swimming in one of the many lakes the Twin Cities has to offer!

During this time, Arty developed a love and knack for Asian cooking and an adventurous spirit that led him to travel the world. He spent extensive time in India, Japan, Southeast Asia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. 

In 2018, Arty made the decision to move across the ocean and work for Voyageur Outward Bound School (VOBS). After some time away from expeditionary learning, he was drawn specifically to the opportunity for longer expeditions and the Intercept program. Arty loves working with students to help them transfer the skills they learn in the wilderness to their lives at home. The opportunity to support families during this time of upheaval and transition is one of his favorite parts of this job. The learning and growth that he has witnessed at VOBS is more profound than he’s seen anywhere else. Since 2018, Arty has committed his life to Outward Bound and works year-round at the bases in Ely, MN and Redford, TX. He loves his work and is committed to providing the best support he can to instructors, students and their families.