{"id":7266,"date":"2022-05-23T15:04:32","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T19:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/?page_id=7266"},"modified":"2022-05-23T15:04:32","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T19:04:32","slug":"brandon-cole-17","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring2022\/profiles\/brandon-cole-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Brandon Cole \u201917"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BrandonDEGREE<\/strong>: B.S. in economics <\/p>\n

JOB TITLE<\/strong>: Photographer, Tordrillo Mountain Lodge in Alaska<\/p>\n

FAVORITE TRINITY MEMORY<\/strong>: By a long shot, winning a national championship in ice hockey my sophomore year.<\/p>\n

What do you do in your position? <\/strong>I have a wide range of job responsibilities at Tordrillo Mountain Lodge, a luxury helicopter skiing\/adventure lodge located 60 miles west of Anchorage on Judd Lake. When you work off the grid like I do, you have to be resourceful and a \u201cjack of all trades.\u201d One of my many titles is photographer, and with that I oversee and provide content for the lodge\u2019s social media. I also keep the website updated with photos and videos and supply photos for publishers. In addition, I manage an off-the-grid power plant, which consists of two large generators and a cutting-edge battery storage\/inverter system. In the summer, I guide helicopter excursions to our via ferrata<\/em> [a steel cable climbing route], photography trips, and hiking on glaciers.  <\/p>\n

What path did you take to get there? <\/strong>After college, I went home to Alaska, having no idea what I wanted to do but with little interest in working in an office. I grew up in the Alaskan outdoors, and I focused on finding employment where I could be outside enjoying its unique challenges. After working at miscellaneous jobs around Anchorage, I started at the lodge shoveling snow. As I worked my way up, I hoped to have an opportunity to practice my other passion\u2014outdoor photography\u2014at this world-renowned location. I ended up staying on by learning some electrical engineering after being put in charge of a new solar off-grid power system that supplies the lodge with electricity. From there, I have moved to guiding in the summer and supplying photos and videos for the guests, the lodge, and its sponsors.  <\/p>\n

What do you enjoy most about what you do? <\/strong>I enjoy the challenge of living every day in one of the most hostile\u2014and yet most beautiful\u2014environments in the country. Most of my days start with either a short snowmobile ride in the winter or a paddleboard across the lake in the summer to our lodge. I am surrounded by wildlife, incredible mountains, and true wilderness, where I have the opportunity to go skiing, fishing, hiking, and exploring. I have access to thousands of acres of mountains and rivers that are lost in time and rarely visited by a person. Out our front door, we have everything from volcanoes to glaciers to world-class fishing and bear viewing. It is really special to share these great adventures and to witness others experience the beauty and awe of the area for themselves.  <\/p>\n

What are the biggest challenges you face? <\/strong>Making people feel comfortable and safe in places totally outside of their comfort zone. As an example, I guide people who have never climbed on a via ferrata<\/em> and have to talk them through some of their biggest fears as they climb across a cliff face.  <\/p>\n

How did Trinity prepare you for what you do now? <\/strong>My time at Trinity was an introduction to the rest of the world outside of Alaska, teaching me how to communicate with a wide range of people. That has become extremely valuable when guiding clients from around the world. I have always been passionate about the environment, and the courses I took at Trinity helped me develop my internal philosophy that guides me in many of the decisions I confront today. Ice hockey at Trinity taught me the importance of hard work, being a good teammate, and sacrifice.   <\/p>\n

Your brother Ryan was a classmate and ice hockey teammate. What was that like to share the Trinity experience with him? <\/strong>Being able to share four years of college with my brother was and will always be a very special part of my college experience. We roomed together both on and off campus, we took a lot of the same classes, we were both econ majors, and we played hockey together.<\/p>\n

What was the most memorable course you took at Trinity?<\/strong> \u201cPolitical Ecology\u201d was by far the coolest course I had at Trinity. Learning about the cause and effect of environmental decisions from an unbiased view is something I try to implement in my life. My own beliefs are centered upon the importance of our environment and how it should impact our political, social, and economic decision-making.  <\/p>\n

Was there a professor at Trinity who was particularly influential? <\/strong>Shafqat Hussain. Although I did not meet him until my senior spring, I found his view on the world fascinating. He taught me to analyze problems from the viewpoint of others to better formulate and support my arguments. I learned about parts of the world that I have always wanted to visit and fascinating topics like the studies of snow leopards. My interactions with him showed me a person who was interested in the environment, studied the environment, and made it a focus of economic theory. Again, this is a philosophy that has guided me since I left Trinity. <\/p>\n

For more on Cole\u2019s photography, please visit https:\/\/www.brandonmcole.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DEGREE: B.S. in economics  JOB TITLE: Photographer, Tordrillo Mountain Lodge in Alaska FAVORITE TRINITY MEMORY: By a long shot, winning a national championship in ice hockey my sophomore year. What do you do in your position? I have a wide range of job responsibilities at Tordrillo Mountain Lodge, a luxury helicopter skiing\/adventure lodge located 60 miles … <\/p>\n

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