St. Rose supports Adventure Challenge Program

A great way to support Saint Rose's Adventure Challenge Program on behalf of Pace.  Read on...

On behalf of Mike D’Attilio, Fr. Chris DeGiovine, John Ellis, Jason Manning, Sean Peters and Debbie Polley

 

Mike Stratton’s Appalachian Trail Adventure

Have you heard? Mike Stratton, an employee of the College for the last 17 years and the Director of Computer and Media Services is hiking the Appalachian Trail! This 2,180 mile hike starts in Georgia and ends in Maine and usually takes hikers about 5 – 6 months.   The Appalachian Trail, the Nation’s longest footpath, starts at Springer Mountain, Georgia and crosses 14 states before ending at Katahdin, Maine.  Of the estimated three million people who hike on the trail each year, only 1,200-1,500 people attempt the entire hike and, of those, less than one-third complete it.  It is estimated that it will take five million steps to complete the trail. 

One of Mike’s hopes and dreams for this trip is that in some way it might benefit the College and particularly the students. In order to assist in the fulfillment of that dream, a group of us have begun a scholarship fund to assist students who might want to sign on to one of our programs but do not have the funds to do so. Mike has been the guiding force and director for our Adventure Challenge program, a part of Pathways to Saint Rose, a first-year experience, including Adventure Challenge, Arts Encounter and Urban Launch.  All three programs offer once in a lifetime memories, hone critical skills for teamwork and develop student leadership skills. Adventure Challenge focuses on group process, problem solving, communication and trust through low and high ropes course activities, canoeing, raft building, swimming and hiking.  Arts Encounter introduces students to the artistic and musical riches of New York’s Capital Region.   Urban Launch provides an immersion experience for students eager to explore the City of Albany through service and urban awareness.  The cost for each student is approximately $135.  If we had a scholarship fund we could support students who cannot afford the cost but still want to participate.

If you are interested in supporting our Pathways scholarship efforts in honor of Mike’s Appalachian Trail adventure you can send a check made payable  to The College of Saint Rose to Jason Manning in the alumni office.  In the memo line on the check please note that this donation is to be used for the “Stratton Pathways scholarship”.  You can also make a gift online by visiting www.strose.edu/giveagift.  When asked to designate your gift, select free type and enter Stratton.   Any and all donations small or large will be gratefully accepted and will help our students attend the program. 

It is one small way we can let Mike know how much his Saint Rose family supports him and his work with the Pathways program and that we’ll be cheering him on throughout this challenging adventure.

Our Information Technology Services will be keeping us updated on Mike’s progress throughout this adventure.  Watch the Digital Signage monitors on campus to follow Mike’s progress. We will also post the information on the Blackboard portal page.   Or follow his blog site at http://porterpace.blogspot.com/