TWB Trip 2 2016 Experience: Before the Trip

TWB Trip 2!!! ARE YOU READY TO GO OUT WEST?? We are so THRILLED to meet y'all!! (JUNE 20th, where are you?)

Here is a little bit about your lovely directors and counselors...

Grant Deaton

HELLO AMERICA! My name is Grant Deaton and this is my 17th year traveling across this amazing country with TWB. I started going out west in 1996 and 1997 as a participant. In 2001, I began traveling as a counselor and became the tour director in 2003. It was such an honor and privilege to take on the role of Program Director in 2016. Words cannot express how excited I am about traveling out west again this summer with such an incredible group of young people. We are going to have a blast!

I just finished my 12th year of working in education as a Technology Facilitator in Rowan-Salisbury Schools. I enjoy golfing, mountain biking, backpacking, as well as hanging out with my family and dogs. My wife, Kitch, and I are extremely blessed to have three wonderful little boys in our lives. Connor (5 years old), Brandon (3 years old) and Samuel (1 year old) bring so much joy to our family. I will miss them so much this summer.

Enjoying every minute of life is so important to me. Going out west every year with the best young people God has to offer is the best way to spend a summer in my mind. I can't wait to see you soon!!

Vickie Wilkins - Trip 2 Director

Hey hey - are you ready to travel out West? My bags are packed and I am always ready to go - "good morning little darlins, everybody wake up, rise and shine! We have a busy day ahead of us exploring America!" Every day on TWB brings great excitement and memories you will never forget, and I am beyond blessed to be going across this breathtaking country with you! V is what my friends call me (aka Vickie Wilkins, and I reside in Sanford, NC. I have the great pleasure of teaching at Southern Lee High School, and I teach PEPI and Teacher Cadet. I also am the SGA advisor, and I coach girls and boys tennis. My heart bleeds Carolina Blue and I have worked part time for the Athletic Department at UNC Chapel Hill in football and basketball for over 30 years. I teach a Sunday School class of women who can brighten anyone's day, and my favorite snack in the world are Fritos, any kind of Fritos. I LOVE FRITOS! I love FRITOS! June is here, the countdown is on and I am so excited to meet you and travel across AMERICA!

John Phifer

Hey everyone! My name is John Phifer and I’m from Monroe, North Carolina. I went to Piedmont High School and was a rising senior when I went on TWB in 2011. I recently graduated from the University of South Carolina, where I got my degree in finance…after going through four major changes along the way. Even though I got a business degree, I am actually going to be headed to Memphis this fall to start my first year as an optometry student. I’m beyond excited for our trip this summer, and I have been dreaming of going back out west ever since I stepped off the bus five years ago!

Katie Shytle

TWB TRIP TWO! Hey there! My name is Katie Shytle and I CANNOT WAIT to go out west with you!! I went out west in the summer of 2009 and that’s when I fell in love with TWB! This is my second summer as a counselor and I can’t even begin to tell you what an incredible summer we are about to have together!!! A little bit about me – I was born and raised in Laurinburg, NC and graduated from Scotland High School. I am a proud (and recent…too recent) Class of 2015 Meredith College graduate where I earned a degree in Psychology and a license to teach. I currently reside in the one and only Raleigh NC, where I am currently teaching the most precious 1st graders on the planet! A few of my favorites things – Coffee (and lots of it), ice cream (lots of that too), Meredith College, any and all breakfast foods, pizza (last food favorite I promise!!), my supportive, loving, big family, the WOLFPACK, and the Carolina Panthers – and above all else, this breathtaking country of ours!! Okay enough about me…. Is it JUNE 20th yet?!?!?! I can hardly wait. I’m so looking forward to meeting each and every one of you and sharing my TWB love with you!! Trip 2, I hope you’re ready for the best summer ever!!!

Katti Caraballo

Hey y’all!! I’m Katti Caraballo and I’m from Whiteville, NC (biggest town in America). I graduated from Meredith College in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology (GO ANGELS!) I am currently in the process of applying to nursing school. I have a few schools I’m looking into including Queens University in Charlotte. I’m not sure what type of nursing I want to do but I am excited to explore all my options. A few things I love- the beach, traveling, diet coke, Grey's Anatomy, dancing, 90’s throwback music, and goldfish!! I’m super thrilled about going out west for the SECOND TIME as a counselor WOOO! When I say I talk about TWB every day, I mean it. Literally, every conversation I have includes my TWB experience in some way. It was unbelievably fabulous and it will forever be one of the best experiences of my LIFE!!!! My 2009 adventure seems like just yesterday and I wouldn't have traded it for anything. Did I mention a few gals on my trip just so happened to be my college roommates? OH YEAHH!!!! Prepare to have a blast because trust me, YOU WILL!!! I can’t wait to meet y’all and share a summer you will never forget or stop talking about!! See y'all on June 20th!!!

Evan Hiatt

HEY YALL! My name is Evan Hiatt and my fingers are literally trembling with excitement as I type BECAUSE WE ARE GETTING READY TO TRAVEL ACROSS AMERICA TOGETHER. Ever since I was blessed with the opportunity to go on TWB in 2010 (Holla Trip 1!), I’ve always dreamed of going back. I’ve backpacked throughout Europe, was a vagabond for a month out west with my college roommates, and am just getting back from a mission trip in Alaska, but for me, no trip has or will ever match the experience of going to California and back with 82 new best friends. This will be my first time going back as a counselor and I know it won’t be the same without Ryan Gosling (who also goes by Dennis sometimes), but I know it will still be amazing with Channing Tatum (who prefers the nickname Grant when on TWB).

I graduated from East Rowan (Salisbury, N.C.) in 2011 (Row Co, You know!) and afterwards spent four years literally walking uphill both ways when I went to Appalachian State University. There I had the privilege to study to become a high school history teacher, while minoring in Roman Candle wars, camping in blizzards, and wrestling black bears. I (finally) graduated this past December after student teaching at Jesse Carson High School, where I also got to coach wide receivers for the school’s football team. I will be attending UNC Chapel Thrill Law School in the Fall, but I can’t think of any better last hoorah before high diving into student debt than to go across the best country in the world with what I know will be some of the best high schoolers in the world.

Just so you get to know me better, I can quote basically all of Remember the Titans or Sweet Home Alabama. I love random things from history, kayaking/camping/anything outside, all things Harry Potter, and Cheerwine. I’d love to one day be either a gambling riverboat captain, a tornado chaser, or a stay at home dad. My special talents include becoming invisible when no one’s watching, giving really good hugs, and being the best air guitar player this side of the Mississippi! Did I mention I loved Cheerwine?

So get your bags packed up and your shoes tied tight and prepare to have the experience of a lifetime. If you need proof, just know that Green Day wrote the song “Time of Your Life” about their TWB experience. I can’t wait to catch some sunrises and share this adventure with all of you!!!

“I’d rather sing one wild song and burst my heart with it, than live a thousand years watching my digestion and being afraid of the wet.” – Jack London

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The counselors gathered together at Dennis Deaton's house over Memorial Day weekend for staff training. We had the opportunity to look at every participant's application and see what group you all were placed in for this summer's TWB program! We can't wait for you to find out what group you are in! Along with the applications, all the awesome pictures you sent were super helpful in allowing us to get to know you a little better! We are excited to put the pictures we have to your real faces on June 20th!

The weekend was packed with awesome staff training, bonding times (with our own amazing game of Fishbowl), great food and tons of TWB fun! After this weekend together, we KNOW this is going to be the BEST TWB trip ever to travel out west! Check out some pictures from our staff training weekend together...