About the travelers
Claire Battaglia
Claire is a rising junior from Billings, Montana. A political science major, Claire has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Central America, and both Eastern and Western Europe. She has studied Russian, French, and Spanish. She has received training in a series of American Red Cross courses.
James Cotton
Jimmie was born and raised in western Colorado. A member of the class of 2008, he majored in biology at Lewis & Clark. Through a study abroad experience in Brazil, Jimmie became highly proficient in Portuguese and learned about the major social issues facing Brazil. He is passionate about helping children succeed and has a wealth of experience doing just that, including work in an urban elementary school, a wilderness therapy camp for at-risk youth, and a juvenile mentoring program through the United States Forest Service.
Casey Nelson
Casey received a degree in sociology/anthropology and biology in the spring of 2008. She spent the fall of her senior year studying abroad in East Africa. She received a Student Academic Affairs Board (SAAB) Research Grant, which funded her second trip to Nairobi, Kenya to conduct research on the chronic poverty and disease facing female sex workers there. Originally from Austin, Texas, she has significant travel experience in the developing world. In the past, she has studied both Spanish and Swahili. Casey is passionate about empowering vulnerable communities and has experience working with youth, including tutoring at a local elementary school and coaching a youth lacrosse team. She hopes to pursue a master of public health degree and then work to alleviate humanitarian and health issues.
Betto van Waarden
Betto grew up in the Netherlands and Germany. He has spent significant time traveling the world—always bonding with the locals by playing soccer. One of his journeys led him to Brazil and during his four-month stay, he mastered Portuguese and acquired a better understanding of Brazilian culture. In 2006, Betto was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to pursue undergraduate studies at Lewis & Clark. Now a rising junior, majoring in history, Betto has a broad interest in the humanities and social sciences. In addition, he greatly enjoys the study of foreign languages and has learned valuable medical knowledge through the Wilderness First Responder course at Lewis & Clark.