A 23 member team from SUNY Oswego successfully reached the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in mid-January as part of the course PED 399 “Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.”
In the semester leading up to their expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro, the students learned mountain climbing techniques, prepared in terms of fitness, nutrition and health and even climbed Mt. Marcy, New York’s highest peak.
On Jan. 10th, Mehran Nojan, the college’s director of institutional research and one of the course’s instructors, reported via satellite phone “We had 100 percent success. Everyone made it to the top! Other than exhaustion and a few headaches here and there, everyone is in great shape!”
With the help of a team of porters, the team’s ascent and descent of the world’s highest stand- alone peak took eight days.
While the team was there, they also visited a school in a Maasai village to distribute school supplies as well as go on a safari.
Lorrie Clemo, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, noted that while the course offering was unusual, it provided experiences that challenged students and gave them the opportunity to experience the culture of Tanzania.
“One of our strengths is hands-on learning, and students learned about working as a team, how to prepare their minds and bodies for the trek and about the importance of setting and reaching goals,” she said. “The next time they face a challenge during their college years or careers, they can look at everything they did to scale Mount Kilimanjaro and be confident they can succeed at anything.”
For more information on their expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro, visit http://oswegogoingglobal.org.
Great work to all who participated in the mountain climbing.
Wow! That is an amazing class and I'm sure all the students had a great experience. I would love to have a class that is as adventurous. Having a class like that will make the college experience even better. Studying all day for exams isn't going to cut it anymore.