Update:
Here is a chart tracing the votes in the competition over time. The final count for Colgate, whose progress is represented in blue, was over 11,000 votes. This was an impressive accomplishment for the Colgate community, as the school in second place finished with just over 4,000 votes.
A chart showing how you helped Outdoor Education win $10,000
From Abby Rowe, director of Outdoor Education:
“I’m absolutely thrilled with the degree to which the university, our alumni, and friend network became invested in this competition. To walk away with the popular vote is mind-boggling and a true testament to the Colgate spirit that informs all that we do here. I am additionally thankful to the efforts of Evan Chartier ’14 and David Esber ’13 who really drove the networking on the OE end. I’m excited to brew up our next adventure and to share that story with the Colgate community. Go ‘Gate!”
Colgate’s Outdoor Education Program won $10,000 from Polartec.
For two weeks last June, nine paddlers from Colgate’s Outdoor Education Program took on more than 100 miles of the bold and remote coastline of southern Newfoundland. Thanks to the support of many members of the Colgate community, the program won $10,000 for the documentary-style video in the final round of the Polartec Made Possible Challenge.
Colgate supporters voted early and often, and Polartec announced today that the school had won with more than 11,000 votes. The Polartec award will help subsidize future cultural expeditions for Outdoor Ed.
According to David Esber ’13, whose sincere plea closes the video, funds also will help the program purchase higher quality video and audio recording equipment so future students can chronicle their trips.
The five-minute video, produced by Esber, includes a bit of Colgate humor. It also clearly depicts the value of the extended expedition format, which emphasized both paddling skills and interacting with the local communities.
Colgate, by far the smallest school in the competition, was up against SUNY New Paltz, the University of Wyoming, and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, which alone has 25,000 students.