Are you up for the challenge?

UPDATE:

Provost Powers reached the summit of Mount Whitney in 11.5 hours and clocked an impressive 19.5 hours of hiking in total. Please consider making a gift in honor of his extraordinary journey. Gifts of all sizes will make a real difference to William Paterson students!

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On July 27, Provost Joshua Powers is honoring William Paterson students as he hikes Mount Whitney in California. As an avid hiker, Provost Powers has summited Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and the High Passes around Everest. Still, Provost Powers notes that these hikes pale in comparison to what WP students experience every day. 

The journey to obtaining a college degree can be filled with obstacles. Many of our students come from moderate means and have to work two or even three jobs. A car breakdown, a book purchase, or a bus pass purchase can result in missing classes, not enrolling, or having to opt out. With this in mind, Provost Powers created the Provost Powers Emergency Grant Fund which provides aid to students experiencing unexpected financial hardships that may prevent them from graduating.

Did you know? 

• Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States at 14,505 feet.
• This journey to the summit is a 22 mile round trip and on average takes around 12 hours to complete. 
• The path to the summit is around 6,000 feet of vertical climbing. 
• The permit process allows only about 150 people per day to do the hike. And nearly three times that many try, and fail, to get a permit through the lottery to do the hike every year.
• This hike has been a bucket list dream of Provost Powers in substantial part because his grandfather did it in 1910 with a friend at the age of 17!
  

Let’s cheer on this team by raising funds for the Provost Powers Emergency Grant Fund. Gifts of all sizes are transformative! Don’t believe us? If $1 were pledged for every foot of vertical climbing taken on this hike, then together we can raise $6,000 to help William Paterson students on their college journey.

Check out Provost Powers at the summit of Mount Whitney below!