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North Trip Profiles

Alison Adams

Trip Leader
Yale 2009

My name is Alison Adams and I am a sophomore in Timothy Dwight College at Yale. As an art history major, I plan to focus my studies on 19th and 20th century Western art. Originally from Palo Alto, California, the land of 60-degree winters, I mysteriously love all sports snow- and ice-related, particularly figure skating and snowboarding. I also enjoy rollerblading and biking, though I have little experience with longer bike rides and am looking forward to getting my fill of them as a leader for the HBC North trip this summer. Last spring I traveled to New Orleans to help gut houses with Habitat for Humanity, so I am very excited to be involved with such an amazing and important fundraiser for the organization this year. I am really looking forward to eating ice cream daily and to seeing the country in the best way possible--on a bike with thirty new friends.

Peter Barkett

Trip Leader
Yale 2007

My name is Peter Barkett and I’m a graduating senior this year. In August I’ll be heading off to another four years of school – medical school, and the only thing that I’m as excited about as medical school is riding across the country this summer with HBC! I’m one of the North route leaders, and I’m psyched about the trip. I’m originally from Western Michigan and grew up in a big family. I grew up doing a lot of biking, both for fun and just to get around, and over the last couple summers I’ve been doing longer and longer rides to cross-train for crew (lightweight). Two of the things I’m looking forward to most, besides the scenery, is getting to gorge myself on food from all over the country, since we’ll be burning so many calories, and participating in the builds.

Katie Connelly

Trip Leader
Yale 2007

My name is Katie Connelly and I am currently a senior at Yale. I am originally from New York City and am majoring in History and French. I returned to New Haven this fall after spending a semester studying abroad in Paris. While at Yale, I have been involved in several community service organizations. Currently, I teach a workshop about substance abuse in New Haven high schools and work for a nonprofit called the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. I also enjoy playing intramurals for Trumbull College, particularly basketball and volleyball. I haven’t worked directly with Habitat before, but I spent last Thanksgiving break in Moss Point, Mississippi painting houses and helping out with the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. That experience helped convince me that I wanted to spend a summer supporting Habitat, seeing so much of the country, and making a difference for families in the New Haven area. I am so excited to be leading HBC North 2007!

Stephanie Lake

Trip Leader
Yale 2007

I am a graduating senior in Trumbull College at Yale University, majoring in political science and Italian. As a life-long Connecticutian and frequenter of few middle states, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to take a protracted view of everything that the US has to offer between New Haven and Seattle before taking the big leap to relocate all the way to Boston in fall 2007. In general, I have a strong affinity for all things beach, skiing, and general tomfoolery. Although bicycling across the country during the summer months is an activity inherently un-coastal and anti-snow, I am confident that I am up for the challenge of leading 30 new friends on this journey and look forward to the development of mildly unfortunate tan lines and disproportionate quad muscles.

Philip Acimovic

Tufts

Hi! I’m Phil. I live in Boston and everyday I’m writing, arranging and playing music. I have studied music composition for the past 5 years and hope to make a living at it. Writing everything from electronic sound installations to solo piano music keeps me busy. I am very excited to be riding across the country for a good cause and to make tangible connections with people we meet on the trip. Spreading knowledge is often the best way to help out. I am also running the Boston marathon in early April so I’ll be in good shape for the HBC!

Jay Alexander


I am a senior (graduating December '07) at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. I am majoring in Materials Science and Engineering and am originally from Albuquerque, NM. I became involved with Habitat during my freshman year of college and since have been a leader on several Habitat trips. I am excited to be involved with HBC because it is the perfect opportunity to serve and help those who are affected by housing poverty through something that I love, biking. I can't wait to hit the road and see the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific!

Annie Bohlen

Virginia 2007

I absolutely love people! And I am so excited to be spending this summer with tons of them. I can’t wait to meet the 30 people with whom I will be riding, as well as the thousands of people we will contact as we ride across the country. My parents named me Stephanie Bohlen, but everyone calls me Annie. I am a second year at the University of Virginia and other than loving people, some of my favorites include triathlons, saving energy, doing handstands, the state of Colorado, climbing mountains, singing at the top of my lungs, break dancing, and pistachios.

Chad Callaghan

Yale 2007

My name's Chad Callaghan. A May 2007 graduate of Yale College, I'm now an actor (read: probably unemployed for the foreseeable future), and I'm interested in identifying the middle ground between politics and entertainment. I want to contribute to the nation's social and political discourse through wide-audience performance media such as theatre, film and television. I'm also a sometime stage and screenwriter and newspaper columnist as well as a Yale Freshman Outdoor Orientation Trips (FOOT) leader. Probably my favorite charity organization, Habitat inspires my sense of community: nothing demonstrates the greatness of humanity like the coming together of a network of individuals to provide their fellow humans with basic shelter. I've spent my entire life one coast or another, and it's about time I get in touch with the nation in between. Nothing will prepare me for my future life in New York City like a hands-on exploration of our country's physical and social landscape.

Joshua Cutler

University of Wisconsin - Madison 2007

Hello there! My name is Josh Cutler and I'm a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison double majoring in chemistry and physics. But don't let those science-y majors scare you off. When I'm not blowing things up, or figuring out how to save the world, I'm enriching myself with what my contemporaries often shun, the humanities! I've been playing piano ever since I was just a runt, and I've recently picked up the guitar. I'm an avid cyclist and love both the road and the mountain for my route. I'm very excited to be able to devote my summer to a worthy cause and also to bike across the country right after I graduate! I've never done anything like this and am hopeful that it will be one of the defining experiences in my life.

Greg Dibelius

Amherst College 2005

Hi, my name is Greg, I'm originally from Seoul but I grew up in Upstate New York (the Albany area). I graduated in 2005 from Amherst College with a degree in Biology, and have since been working at the MIT Center for Cancer Research studying cancers of the gastrointestinal tract and accessory organs. I am planning on attending medical school in the fall of 2007, right after the Habitat Bike Challenge is over. I see the Bicycle Challenge as the perfect transition to a career in medicine, a field devoted to service and characterized primarily by a lot of hard work. Plus, I'm all about challenges, especially the ones that make others think I'm semi-insane (I think 4,000 miles on a bike qualifies). I just recently ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC., and it was probably the most exhilarating yet painful experience of my entire life! I'll definitely be back for more marathons, but for now I want to turn my focus towards cycling to give my shins and feet a much needed break from pavement-pounding. The opportunity to do this through Habitat for Humanity is incredible and I think truly special, and I couldn't be more excited.

Sarah Gowland

UMBC 2008

Hey! My name’s Sarah Gowland, I’m from southern Maryland and am a senior at UMBC. I’m majoring in Biology and Psychology and hope to one day teach high school Biology. At school, I am active in Habitat for Humanity and a tutoring/mentoring program for Baltimore youth. Since childhood, I’ve had an on again off again love for bikes and am thrilled to have the opportunity to bike across the country. The best part of the trip is knowing that the other riders and I will be spreading awareness and promoting activation of Habitat for Humanity in communities across the entire nation! I’m looking forward to meeting the other cyclists and can’t think of a better way to make my way to the Pacific.

Samantha Henderson

Yale

Hi! My name is Samantha Henderson, and I’m a senior in Trumbull College at Yale University. I’m graduating this spring with a degree in History of Science, History of Medicine, and I’m planning on eventually getting my Master’s in Public Health. While I have no idea what I’m doing next year, I am very excited about doing the Habitat Bike Challenge. I’ve lived in both California and Connecticut (our first stop on HBC will be within a few miles of my house!) so I’ve seen a lot of both coasts, but I’m eager to see the rest of the country (at least the northern part). The best part is that I get to do all of this while gaining lots of new friends and raising awareness for Habitat, an amazing and inspiring organization.

John Hutchinson


I am from Berwyn, Pennsylvania, a beautiful town just outside of Philadelphia. I just graduated from Yale University, where I was a double major in History and International Studies. I hope to begin a career in public service working for the US Government in national security issues. But before I do, I wanted to see my country from a different angle. The view from a bike sounded perfect!

At Yale, I was a four-year varsity letter winner on the men's swimming and diving team. I'm a very physically active person, so when the opportunity to combine a summer of exercise, sight-seeing, and community service arose, I had to take it.

David Kahn


I’m a 27-year-old sophomore, working the ten-year plan for getting my undergraduate degree. I took a seven-year hiatus to work at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (www.ellabakercenter.org) in Oakland, California. This past June I moved back to New Haven, my home town, just in time for the birth of my nephew in (relatively) nearby Jersey City. I’m glad to be back where I’m from, near family and old friends. I know that I’m extremely lucky to be able to retreat from the working world to read, write and think about interesting things and difficult problems. Three that I care about and hope to help address are poverty, environmental crises, and social iniquity. I don’t know what adventures are coming, but I have faith that our hard work to bring people together for dignity and justice will yield wonderful rewards. I feel blessed to have this opportunity to bring support to Habitat for Humanity by doing something that is so joyful for me.

Julia Kahn

Yale University 2010

My name is Julia Kahn and I was born and raised in New York City. A freshman at Yale, I am still very undecided about a major, but it will probably be somewhere in the English, Literature, History, or History of Art departments. I love playing sports, especially cycling, volleyball, and basketball. I am also completely dedicated to intramural table tennis. I love to dance, and am involved in theater. An amateur American cultural analyst, I am looking forward to exploring the high mountains, vast plains, and whatever is in between.

Howard Kim

Yale 2007

Hey folks, my name is Howard Kim. I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and am currently a senior at Yale University. I'm studying political science, but next year I'll be attending medical school. I joined the HBC trip because Habitat for Humanity is a great cause, and I think biking across the country would be an awesome accomplishment. I ran the San Francisco Marathon last year (with fellow HBC-er Janelle Laudone, HOLLA), and I hope to spend another summer in intense, yet glorious physical pain. I'm excited to spend the last few months of my college career with good friends, and I look forward to meeting many new friends on the trip.

Alexis Krumme

Yale 2007

I hail from California originally, and so as a West-Coaster Yale senior, I see no better way of joining together the two principle experiences in my life than with the Habitat Bike Challenge. I am looking forward to traveling through places I have only heard about, meeting people at all our destinations, and taking part in the good work that Habitat does throughout the country. As a history major at Yale, I have been fortunate enough to travel recently to London for my senior essay, as well as to be a part of a research project at the Yale Center for British Art. Although I run at Yale and at home and love the outdoors, no experience could prepare me for having my butt on a bike for five hours a day, nor for the incredible opportunity to see the United States on a bike.

Janelle Laudone


Hi, my name is Janelle Laudone. I am a biology major at Yale and I graduate in Sping 2007. After graduation I plan on attending medical school and someday becoming a surgeon. I have lived in New York City and Virginia, but I really grew up in Glastonbury, Connecticut. I played a lot of soccer when I was younger and still love to play when I get a chance. I love endurance testing challenges; last summer I ran in the San Francisco marathon and I am really excited to challenge myself again this summer by biking across the country. The feeling of accomplishment when I finished the marathon was incredible and I know when we finish the Bicycle Challenge we will all share that same feeling. The opportunity to improve the lives of others by building homes and raising awareness across the country also really appeals to me. It will be great to get to help out in so many vastly differing places. I'm really excited!

Michelle Laughlin

Georgetown 2010

My name is Michelle Laughlin and I am from Mountain View, California. I am currently a freshman at Georgetown, and am interested in, but not decided on, English and linguistics. I have only lived in California and Washington D.C., and think the Habitat Bike trip is a great way to see all the states in between while simultaneously earning money for a great cause. I’m pretty active; I have been a figure skater for thirteen years, and like running, and of course, biking. I love to cook, and it has become a well-known fact that if it is a holiday, my roommate and I are sure to be baking. Knitting is another hobby of mine. I knit recreationally for myself and for the needy with a club at Georgetown. Unfortunately my high school did not offer Habitat programs, so I have tried to be as involved as possible in Georgetown’s Habitat chapter. I have really enjoyed working at build sites and could not be more excited to start pedaling.

Ned Murphy


Hi, my name is Ned and this year I will be (un)ceremoniously kicked out of the comfortable nest I have made at Yale to seek my fortune in the working world. After having spent nearly two decades going to school full time, I am a little apprehensive about how the new way of life will strike me but mostly I am excited to see what’s next. I wanted to participate in the Habitat Bicycle Challenge because I feel that it will put a nice cap on my time in college and bring closure to this year. I know that there is no feeling like looking back over what you have accomplished, after going through something both mentally and physically challenging, to boost one’s confidence in one’s abilities. Completing this challenge will give me the confidence to step confidently into my new life and, as an added bonus, my efforts can help Habitat for Humanity make life better for those in need. I have been exceedingly lucky in life and I feel that it is my duty to give something back to those who have not been as fortunate as I. Th Challenge seems the perfect opportunity to both prepare me for what is next as well as do great good along the way.

Donald Nguyen


Hi. I'm Donald. I graduated from Yale a couple years ago (2004) after majoring in computer science. I've been working in the real world as an engineer in New York. Now, I'm off to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science. Before locking myself up in the ivory tower, I've decided that I really need to experience America, especially while sitting on a plush bike saddle for hours a day.

Sheila Rustgi

Yale 2007

I am a graduating senior in Trumbull at Yale, majoring in economics. I grew up just outside of Washington, DC. Throughout my college career, I've spent a lot of time volunteering for various causes and institutions, and I'm looking forward to adding Habitat to that list. I think of the bike trip as a great way to end my college experience. I can't wait to get to know everybody better and see the rest of the US!

Caroline Satterfield

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Liz Schurgin

Yale 2007

My name is Liz Schurgin and I am from Deerfield, Illinois. I am about to graduate Yale with a BA in history. Next fall, I will return to New Haven to complete my Masters in Music on bassoon at the Yale School of Music. In addition to my musical activities, I am a member of the Yale Women’s Club Water Polo Team. I love to travel, perform and meet new people; I plan to do all three of these activities this summer on HBC North. Yes, my bassoon is making the 4000 mile odyssey in our sag wagon. I am more than happy to play for anyone who asks. I am very excited to contribute to Habitat for Humanity by doing this crazy bike trip. I look forward to spreading awareness about the organization as well as participating in some builds!

Marion Stanley

Yale 2007

Hi! My name is Marion Stanley and I am from Winnetka, Illinois. I am very excited to be part of HBC North! I will be graduating from Yale this spring with a BS in Biology, and will hopefully be attending medical school next fall. I have been a member of the golf team the past four years at Yale, and love being able to spend time outside and away from campus for a few hours in the spring and fall. I can’t wait for the challenge of a 4,000 mile bike ride, the appeal of a tour across the country, and the experience of volunteering for Habitat. I have spent the past few summers as a camp counselor, a student in summer school, and working on lab and clinical research for Parkinson’s disease. However, I definitely think that this will be my most adventure-filled summer yet!

Christopher Sterling

MTSU 2009

Hi. My name is Chris Sterling. I live in the geographic center of Tennessee (and universe), which is Murfreesboro, TN. I am a 21 year old Physics Major at MTSU with an Astronomy Concentration. I work at an elementary school giving kids K-6 guitar lessons and teaching them the wonders of space. Other than that, cycling is something that I have been drawn to. I was recently accepted into this thing called the Habitat Bicycle Challenge 2007. I have yet to figure out what that is, but from what I hear, all you do is ride a bike.

I think that bike riding is a great way to spread Habitat for Humanity awareness throughout our country. I hope that his trip will help to bring awareness to the poverty of our nation, so that others will get out and do the work that they should be doing to help make this country a great place to live.

Amanda Wilson


Hi! I’m Amanda Wilson and I’m a senior business management major at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I’m originally from Darien, Connecticut, but now when I’m not in school I’m with my parents down in Austin, Texas. I spent my second semester junior year studying abroad in Australia; I was able to travel around the country as well as get over to New Zealand and Fiji. I love seeing new places which is one reason I am so excited for the HBC trip!