GCC TRIO program goes tubing at Mt. Zion

By CHARITY SMITH

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Ironwood - Students in the TRIO program at Gogebic Community College, didn't let harsh winds, icy conditions and a broken part on the tow rope put a damper on their fun Friday night when they took advantage of the tubing hill at Mount Zion.

Twenty-five students participated in the event, put on by the program which is designed to support and encourage students that are either low income, disabled, or first-generation college students.

"We had a lot of fun. We actually got some exercise in because the rope pull was down for a little bit, so we were walking up the hill a couple times," said program director Jessica Leinon-Novascone.

The event was designed to promote student engagement, Leinon-Novascone said. She said they have a lot of activities that are "just fun" for students. The events put them in an environment where they can have fun with TRIO staff and students.

"They get to see a little bit more of the fun side of us (the staff) and that helps them to become more comfortable with us when they need to come to us with other needs," she said. "Just getting to know each other and building that rapport with students is very helpful in terms of engaging them and developing their sense of belonging here at the college."

Students shared a meal before heading to the hill, where conditions were pretty fast on Friday because of the warmer weather earlier that day, followed by freezing as the temperatures dipped. Some of the students ended up going over the berm at the bottom of the hill, and jokingly referred to themselves as survivors as they preceded to go back up the hill.

According to Mt. Zion Director of Operations Jim Vanderspoel, the best time to go to the tubing hill is when the weather is steadily in the mid-20s, but several days last week offered some warmer weather, and after the snow started melting it then to frozen as ice as the temps fell.

He said that there is quite a bit of science involved to slow people down. Vanderspoel said the hill offers two different style tubes, and does various other things to help control speed. However, the more weight going down the hill, the faster people go, he said. On Friday, Vanderspoel said he had to stop people from going down in groups as the conditions and the extra weight made it possible for people to go over the berm.

Vanderspoel said they were able to fix the tow rope that evening.

Leinon-Novascone said they thought the outdoor event was a good one as they were able to maintain social distancing requirements. "Being outside was a good opportunity for us to be together and be in a safe environment with all the COVID stuff going on," she said.