HEYO!!! What’s goin on everyone?!!! My name is Quinn. Actually my full name is Richard Quinn Hess, but if you call me that I’ll just think I’m in trouble. I am 247 months, 6 days, 25 minutes, and now approximately 6 seconds old (don’t use a calculator to figure it out!). I am from Portland Oregon, but currently split my time between the North Lake Tahoe area and Reno Nevada. I’m six feet two inches tall, and have blue eyes and blonde hair. I am in the process of acquiring more overnight camp experience (just one of the reasons I’m so pumped to be at Camp Augusta this summer), but I have spent somewhere around two years of my alleged grown-up life hanging out with all ages of kids, not to mention being one for the last 20 years.
I have studied many things over the course of my life, like how to have fun on a rainy day, how to become a professional adventurer, the best way to talk like a chicken, and the intricacies of tree fort building. As far as more school related studying goes, I graduated from Sherwood High School in the spring of 2009, and now am a student at the University of Nevada, Reno. I am working towards a degree in human development and family studies with a focus on child and adolescent development. I am passionate about this area of study for many reasons, the first being that I love spending time with kids; children bring an energy and authenticity to life that is nothing short of inspiring in my mind. Secondly, learning about the development of children in conjunction with their relationship to the family will open up hundreds of opportunities for me to help families and kids all over the world. I am working towards a career in therapy or counseling and cherish the ability to make a far reaching positive difference in a person’s life.
In addition to my collegiate education, I am also working towards becoming a mountain/skiing guide. Skiing is a huge part of my life, and the funny thing is, no matter how much I ski, I always want more. It’s like I can’t get enough of the sensations and wonder that come from being in the mountains and making turns in the powder. I have been a children’s ski instructor at “Northstar at Tahoe Resort” for the past two years, and am also a coach for the Northstar Freeride Team. This is where the majority of my experience helping, teaching, and chasing kids around the mountain comes from.
The careers I’m working toward are centered around children and skiing. My goal is to work as a guide or coach in the winter, and then spend my summers working with families and children to create more fun, understanding, and passion, in their lives.
I live a pretty active lifestyle. I am a member of the carabineer club here at UNR (a rock climbing and slacklinning club), I am also on the UNR ultimate frisbee team. Other than these things I enjoy hiking, trail running, backpacking, skateboarding, surfing, and am learning how to kayak. I love being outdoors so pretty much anything that will allow me to be outside I will enjoy.
As I mentioned earlier, most of my experience with kids comes from teaching skiing. In addition to this I am a volunteer at Great Basin Outdoor School; an outdoor school for middle school students on the shore of beautiful Lake Tahoe. I am in process of working out an internship this fall with Great Basin Outdoor School.
In case it isn’t clear by now, I am overjoyed to be at camp this summer. I can’t imagine a better way to spend a summer than hanging out with a bunch of super cool campers and fellow staff. It is an amazing opportunity to learn, laugh, live, and have fun in a truly magical place.
One of the things I hope campers will take away from camp this summer is a new way to look at life. We are all surrounded by magic, wonder, joy, and love, but it is all too easy to get wrapped up in the hectic and stressful parts of life and let these miraculous parts go unnoticed. Camp is a perfect place to take a step back and be reminded of how grand life is. I believe one of my greatest gifts is the ability to do just that; regularly slow down for a minute and find the wonder and magic in even the smallest events. If there is one thing I hope campers will gain from our time together it would be the realization/reminder that there truly are no ordinary moments. 
So if this summer you find a counselor mesmerized by the sway of the trees in the wind, demonstrating the wonderful texture of a stone, or explaining the complexities of a pine cone, come tap me on the shoulder and find out what completely unordinary moment we can witness together. (Get it… earlier I said there weren’t any ordinary moments so, this time I said unordin…oh never mind)
Can’t wait to see you there!
Cheers,
Quinn