Avery Saunders, 25, is finishing her bachelor’s degree in business at the College of Charleston. Aver grew up in Charleston, and is pursuing her dream of starting her own clothing line! Avery has always sought out leadership and spent 8 months studying our greatest leaders before embarking on a 2-month sailing trip as a part of the leadership program. She also completed an Outward Bound in the Boundary Waters and led pre-orientation trips for her college. After attending an all-girls high school, we are thrilled Avery will be a leader for our all-girls Hawaiian Islands trip!

Helen Bishop, 22, was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia alongside her SIX siblings which made for an extremely entertaining and active childhood. In December, she graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in Business Administration. As a Yellow Jacket, Helen was highly involved around campus, serving as a mentor to teenagers and college-aged individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through the Excel Program. Last summer, she worked as a medical intern with the Himalayan Health Exchange in Northern India! Helen is a two-time Moondance alum—2015 Maui and 2017 Chamonix—and has been waiting for the opportunity to be the kind of role model her leaders were to her. We can’t wait to see Helen’s positive, driven, and personable demeanor in action this summer in her first year as a Trip Leader!

Gretchen Minor, 21, was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and is a rising senior at her hometown university where she is majoring in Management and Entrepreneurship. On campus, she works as a Social Media Coordinator and Student Assistant for the Department of Management, which is where she met all-star veteran leader James Kelley and heard about Moondance! Gretchen has been a YoungLife leader in the Tuscaloosa area since January 2021 and absolutely loves the many relationships she has built as a mentor. YoungLife led Gretchen to volunteer as an AM cook at Crooked Creek Ranch in Colorado in summer 2021 and then to work as a horse wrangler and trail riding guide at Pine Cove Silverado in Columbus, Texas last summer. We are thrilled to have Gretchen’s spontaneous personality, confident and driven demeanor, and her passion for serving and working with young people join the Moondance team! Her students are going absolutely love getting to know her on our Hawaiian Islands trip this summer!