Mana

he/him

Aspen, Colorado

Waterski

Hi everyone, my name is Mana,

I grew up on Maui, Hawaii, but now I live in Aspen, Colorado. I’m 18 Years old and about to graduate from Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale Colorado. Next year i’ll be doing a year abroad in Seville, Spain then attending the University of Utah the year after that, i’ll be majoring in Kinesiology there. Some fun facts about myself- I love to ski, surf, kayak and mountain bike. My full name is Manakai which in Hawaiian translates to power of the ocean. And I’m a photographer who has worked with some famous RedBull athletes.

This summer will be my first summer as a counselor at ADK…but it’s going to be my 9th summer overall! I’ll be teaching water skiing this summer and I’m so excited to teach as many kids as I can. I learned to waterski from my Mom (who also happened to be a waterski staff at ADK years ago) when I was 7 years old, then I learned how to slalom ski at ADK when I was 12!

My favorite activities at camp are definitely waterskiing, sailing and kayaking, I’m so excited to be able to teach one of those sports. I love ADK for so many reasons but the most important to me is the inclusive amazing community the whole peninsula takes part in. I’m so excited to be a part of the amazing environment at ADK, and be able to recreate what I had when I was a camper. I had the most amazing staff who helped me with anything I needed.

Camp is somewhere anyone can make positive lasting memories and I look forward to being able to assist with that. This summer I hope to foster a positive experience for campers but also be able to push them out of their comfort zone to try new things. Adk is an amazing place to find out who you are and what you love! Im counting down the day!