Grant Deaton- Program Director
HELLO TWB!!!!! I am SO EXCITED FOR TWB 2023!!!!
I’m Dallas Godbold and I am from TWB Headquarters, Mooresville, NC! I had the amazing opportunity to go on TWB in 2010 and it forever changed my life. My first summer as a counselor was in 2016 and I quickly realized, I wanted to spend every summer on TWB. This will be my 8th trip as a staff member! To say I am excited about traveling out west with you all, is definitely an understatement!!!
I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2015 with a degree in Elementary Education! I loved Greensboro so much, that I’ve lived here ever since college. I am currently a math instructional coach at WashingtonMontessori Elementary. I support 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers with coaching, planning, modeling lessons, and pulling small groups. Previously, I had taught 4th grade math for 6 years. I am so thankful that being a teacher allows me to travel with YOU!
Some of my favorite things include….ICE CREAM, coffee, Taylor Swift and Reese’s! I love spending time with my family. I have 4 siblings, so we are always having fun in the Godbold
house!! When I am not on TWB in the summer you can find me hanging at the beach or by the pool!
I hope you are ready for a special summer, I promise it will be a summer you will ALWAYS remember! We are going to have 23 days filled with sunshine, happiness, and excitement. See you on June 17th!!!!!!
Kayleigh-Scarlett Hopper (TWB 2012-2) - Cooks
Hello TWB! I'm Kayleigh-Scarlett Hopper or KS as most people call me (even my parents), and I am so excited to be going out west with all of you this summer. I went on TWB in 2012 on trip 2 as a participant and this summer will be my fourth trip out west as a counselor. There are certain moments that stand out in your life and TWB is definitely one of those moments. It instilled a love of traveling, meeting new people, and seeing new places that has forever changed me.
I grew up in Cherryville, NC with my parents and two siblings. I talked about TWB so much that my brother, Aulden, decided to go west in 2016. I now reside in Raleigh and I am a first-grade teacher in Wake County. I absolutely LOVE teaching and my first graders! I graduated from NC State with a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education (2018) and with a master's degree in Literacy (2019.) GO PACK!
In my free time, I love to attend Wolfpack sporting events, spend time outside especially on a beach, sing karaoke (my carpool karaoke mic will be traveling out west with us-Get ready for some Dolly Parton), and spend time with my family and friends.
Get ready for the trip of a lifetime! You will laugh, cry, sing, dance, sweat, and maybe even get a little sleep. See you June 17th!
*pro tip: pack your clothes in ziplock bags, in case your suitcase gets wet! You never know when a Grand Canyon monsoon will appear :)
Hey there TWB! I'm Ian Objio, and I am lucky enough to call Mooresville, NC home, although as an Army brat who grew up in Germany, it's hard to tie me down in one place for too long. I joined Trip 4 in 2019 as they took the West by storm, and I've been itching to head back out ever since! (The Deaton Stew calls to me...)
I graduated from Appalachian State University (Roll Neers!) in May of 2023 with a Bachelor's in Political Science. My time representing TWB in Appalachia isn't quite finished however, as I began working on my Master's in International Relations during my senior year and will be wrapping that up next fall! Once I've had my fill of books and exams, I'm headed off to the Navy to serve as an Aviation Officer.
As I mentioned, I grew up bouncing back and forth between the States and Europe, so traveling and foreign cultures have always been an interest to me. Despite having crisscrossed the Atlantic so many times, the experiences and landscapes our nation has to offer (and the same ones that TWB will give you in spades) are unmatched!
I'm so excited to be a part of this experience for you all, and I can't wait to meet you!
Hiya! My name is Alicia Hutchins and am BEYOND excited to go out west again this summer. I was blessed with the opportunity of a lifetime just like you guys back in 2017 on Trip 1! I was going into my junior year of high school and I still talk about this trip AT LEAST once every other day and am in contact with my friends I made on the trip! From the time I was on the trip I have made it a dream of mine to come back and be a counselor on the trip that gave me so much, AND HERE WE FINALLY ARE, and I am so excited that YOU are going to be apart of my dream!
A little bit about me: I was raised in the wonderful city of Gastonia, NC where I live with my mom and grandparents. I swam Division 1 at the University of North Carolina Wilmington where I graduated in 2022 with my degree in Exercise Science and studied abroad in South Africa where I got to swim with sharks, penguins, bungee jump off the tallest bridge in the world, hang out with giraffes and do lots of surfing! I am currently in nursing school in hopes to pursue my doctorate as a Certified Nurse Anesthetist. While I still have a lot of schooling left in my future I would never trade the opportunities that I have been blessed with for the world. I currently work on a Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit as a healthcare tech, while in my profession I see the worst day in many people's lives everyday I have the pleasure of trying to make their day just a little bit better by providing the best possible care and that is what makes my job so special.
When I am not at work or in school I enjoy: shopping (of course!), going to Disney, playing with my two puppies, running marathons, traveling, and making a whole lot of memories to last a lifetime! I cannot wait to meet each and every one of you! This is truly going to be such a special trip that you will never forget! Soak it all in and never take a moment for granted!
Justin Turner (TWB 2019-3)- Dishwashers-Bus Packers-
What’s up TWB 2023 Trip 1! I am Justin Turner and I’m so excited to be heading out west as a counselor! I originally went on TWB in 2019 trip 3 and loved it so much that I had to come back again! This will be my first trip as a counselor.
I am originally from a small town near Charlotte called Denver and went to East Lincoln High School where I graduated in 2020. I am currently a senior at App State and I’m going to be graduating in the Fall of 2023, the semester after TWB, with a major in Criminal Justice with a focus in international studies. Also the semester after TWB I’ll be doing an internship at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore working with the National Park Law Enforcement. It’s an opportunity I am totally excited for and I’m so excited for that after TWB!
In the winter I work at a snow tubing place up here in boone enjoying the weather and I’ve had lots of summer jobs that have given me experience in different things such as river tubing, car detailing, and working at a driving range. My other interests include all things sports (if you ever need score updates, I’ll gladly oblige), playing lacrosse, and enjoying nature anytime I can. I played lacrosse for 10 years and I sadly just retired from the game I love.
Once again, I am INSANELY excited to be going out west and can not wait to meet all of you and travel with you! A couple things I will tell you to watch out for that I was told to watch out for are Beaver-sharks, bats, and especially those daggum yetis.
Here’s a little secret: Trip 1 is ALWAYS the best :)
