Imagine a family beach day before your scheduled surf lesson. Swimsuits are packed and everyone is ready for a day under the sun. Suddenly, a downpour begins and your belongings are soaked.
Instead of going home, your dad grabs the soccer ball to kick off a laughter-soaked game in the rain. After a while, everyone forgets about being wet because they are having so much fun.
This is the kind of dad Brad Humphrey was to senior environmental science major Mia Humphrey. He made the most out of every situation and wanted to share the outdoors with others.
“He only lived to 55, but I swear he lived in dog years,” Humphrey said. “For his celebration of life, there were over 500 people there, and so many stories were shared because that man really lived.”
Seven years after his passing, Humphrey embodies her father’s adventurous spirit by continuing his fearless legacy through leading trips for the Outdoor Pursuits Program (OPP) and her family’s hikathon non-profit, 2B-RAD.
“I try to bring that same sense of adventure everywhere I go,” Humphrey said. “It sometimes does get me into trouble, but that is very in the spirit of my dad.”
After B. Humphrey passed away from Richter Syndrome in 2018, the family established 2B-RAD, which has gained traction among UP students. All profits raised by the project go towards organizations that align with their mission of cultivating accessibility to the outdoors, like MTN2SEA.
“2B-RAD is run by family,” Humphrey said. “Blood-related or not, it is [run by] our chosen family.”
The project hosts an annual hikeathon in October for hikers to pledge miles for donation. The first year in 2021 saw 160 participants across the West Coast who cumulatively hiked around 2,000 miles, according to Humphrey.
Those who are interested in participating in 2B-RAD can sign up to donate or join a hike during the next October hikathon.
In their respective states, the Humphrey children lead hikes in honor of their dad.
“I try to tell stories about my dad on the hikes I lead and bring the way he lived into the ways I live,” Humphrey said. “I am proud of myself for doing that well.”
Humphrey’s favorite trips to lead for OPP are introductory surfing lessons at the Oregon coast.
But Humphrey says that when she was young, she feared the ocean. As a veteran surfer, her dad was more comfortable with the sport, so she relied on him for guidance when navigating rough currents.
Once he passed, Humphrey learned to be her own safety-net.
“Now, I love the ocean,” Humphrey said. “That’s where I can feel closest to my dad. I feel like I can track the growth I’ve had as a person through my relationship with the ocean.”
Photo submission from Mia Humphrey.
Humphrey’s friend and fellow OPP trip leader, Andrea Kustic, has participated in several 2B-RAD hikes led by Humphrey.
“I had heard Mia mention things about her dad in passing,” Kustic said. “But going on the hike, I saw the ways Mia embodied those characteristics, sometimes without even realizing it.”
When Humphrey was a freshman in high school, her parents disclosed her dad’s terminal diagnosis to her and her brothers. A year after he died, the family celebrated their first “Brad Day.”
Roberta Humphrey, Humphrey's mother, says the family felt closest with B. Humphrey when they were engaged with the activities that he loved.
“We were really lost when he died,” R. Humphrey said. “We got up on the morning of the first year since his death and decided to do everything he loved. We went surfing, [we] hiked and were outdoors all day because that was how Brad was. That was the beginning of our healing. We called it ‘Brad Day.’”
This family tradition continued as they learned to navigate the world without B. Humphrey in it. Humphrey also decided to take action through fundraising as one form of healing.
“The first thing that Mia did was join the Leukemia Lymphoma Society group at her high school,” Roberta Humphrey said. “She went to a meeting and heard that they were holding a fundraiser, so she jumped on it.”
During this seven-week fundraiser, Humphrey raised $96,000 in honor of B. Humphrey and won student of the year for the society in 2020.
“It tells you a bit about the kind of person Mia is,” R. Humphrey said. “She loses the most important person to her and then turns around and immediately gives back to the community.”
Humphrey considers the fundraiser to have been an important part of her grieving process.
“Grief isn’t linear, and tackling those next steps into acceptance really made me feel closer to him,” Humphrey said. “He was a very competitive guy, and we won the competition, so that was awesome.”
Following a few years of celebrating “Brad Day” and an enormously successful fundraiser, a seedling of 2B-RAD emerged. Rising out of Humphrey’s initial fundraiser for her father, she developed a non-profit project called the Genius Project.
“All together, with Mia as the lead, we started the Genius Project because it was the only way for us to feel better as a family,” R. Humphrey said. “Our mission was, ‘Whatever the hardship, get out in nature and community.’”
By 2021, the Genius Project transformed into 2B-RAD, led by a team of board members consisting of family and friends, with an expansive community of supporters.
As the organization progressed, the board members founded the mission statement around B. Humphrey’s values.
“We have a Humphrey creed that was taught to me at a very young age,” Humphrey said. “My parents would say, ‘Hey, try your best; never give up; no fussing or whining; finish the job.’”
This mantra, developed by Humphrey’s parents for when the children were reluctant to complete a chore, has become instrumental to Humphrey’s strong-willed character and the mission of 2B-RAD.
As Humphrey grows older, many of her parents’ characteristics become her own.
For example, her parents used their savings to backpack around the world for a year. Humphrey holds similar aspirations for her future. After graduation, she plans to backpack the Tour du Mont-Blanc.
“In my opinion, they did it right,” Mia Humphrey said. “That’s the kind of thing I want to do in the future because seeing the world is really important to me. Traveling opens your eyes to a lot of things and allows you to be more aware of the world around you.”
She is also considering a career that combines the worlds of leukemia treatment research with coral reef conservation. According to the Coral Reef Alliance, scientists have found that organisms which reside on coral reefs produce compounds used to treat leukemia.
Like the healing components of coral reefs, the Humphrey family has sought healing from the ocean, forests and mountains.
From family camping trips to days spent in California’s waves, Humphrey and her brothers learned to love nature from the day they could stand on their own.
Senior nursing major Noelle Hurley has been friends with Humphrey her entire life. Their moms were childhood friends, along with Hurley’s dad and Humphrey’s uncle.
“Her mom and dad are very outdoorsy,” Hurley said. “ That was something that was ingrained in her growing up.”
As Humphrey follows in her father’s footsteps, she is determined to experience everything the world has to offer.
“I love that I’ve had so many opportunities to be someone who guides communities out in nature,” Humphrey said. “Because that’s what my dad did for me, and not everyone has that person in their life.”
Clara Pehling is a News Reporter for The Beacon, she can be reached at pehling28@up.edu.
