“The teaching and admin staff has been nothing but supportive and that support has allowed me to pursue my goals completely,” Merle shared.

Merle, whose family owns and operates a rafting company on the Payette River, started kayaking when he was about 6 years old. His dad, Tern Long, said that Merle “grew up on the water” and his son’s favorite place to kayak is on the North Fork of the Payette.

Long said Merle loves to train in Australia, and the opportunity for water time, the great weather and incredible people make it one of their family’s favorite places in the world.