Northwest students take the plunge, St. Jude Bearcats raises more than $2,000

Northwest students take the plunge, St. Jude Bearcats raises more than $2,000

With the temperature hovering around 70 degrees and a sunny sky overhead, Thursday didn't present the conditions that usually come with the St. Jude Bearcats' annual Colden Pond Plunge at Northwest Missouri State University.

The water was still plenty cold for six students whose fundraising earned them the right to jump in the pond.

"It took my breath away, I won't lie, but in the best way possible," Phillip Motazedi, a junior digital media major from Joplin, Missouri, said after the event Thursday evening. "It's funny, because when I was jumping in, I didn't expect to be that cold, and I should have known. That was kind of what was advertised - it's the polar plunge."

Similarly, Josie Morgan, a senior secondary math education major from Hamilton, Missouri, said she had fun participating in the event, despite the colder-than-expected water.

"I definitely surprised myself accepting the nomination," said Morgan, who raised $163 for the cause. "I'm not one to do any of these ice bucket challenges or anything cold like that. That's not really my thing, but I love that St. Jude does it, and I wanted to just give back, so I signed up."

Each year, students are nominated to participate in the event by their peers and then encouraged to collect funding to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The students who amass the highest fundraising totals are selected to jump into Colden Pond.

Joining Motazedi and Morgan were Katelyn Briggs, a senior psychology major from Eagleville, Missouri; Lily Hansen, a senior public health major from Maryville; Alora Bucey, a senior graphic design major from Lee's Summit, Missouri; and Avery Baker, a senior applied health science major from Maryville.

This year, St. Jude Bearcats also gave the Northwest community a chance to support "celebrity jumpers" Northwest President Dr. Lance Tatum, Bearcat basketball coaches Matt Keeley and Austin Meyer, and Senior Instructor of English Stancy Bond. None were called upon, though, as the organization didn't meet the fundraising thresholds set for them to jump.

Regardless, St. Jude Bearcats raised $2,365 through this year's Colden Pond Plunge campaign.

"It's really important to us to raise money for St. Jude so that no family is focusing on a bill for treatment, housing or transportation," Leia Groski, a senior applied health science major from Papillion, Nebraska, who serves as president of St. Jude Bearcats. "They're fully focused on the child that is receiving the treatment they need."

Founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, St. Jude is a major healthcare center for children and is funded almost entirely through private donations. As both a treatment center and research facility, the hospital is traditionally associated with the fight against pediatric cancer.

St. Jude Bearcats is affiliated with Up 'til Dawn, a nationwide philanthropy involving students at colleges and universities to honor and support the patients of St. Jude. With the money raised by the Northwest chapter, University students help advance the mission of finding cures so St. Jude patients can grow up and go to college, too.

Jumping in Colden Pond is not allowed; St. Jude Bearcats works in collaboration with the University and the Maryville Fire Department to make the event safe for participants.