532 - Fall 2013.pdf

An Interview with
Alumnus Profile
Jordan Hanssen ’00
Tell us about OAR Northwest and how it got started. I fell
in love with rowing. I’ve always loved to travel. Post college, I
was training in Seattle, with an idea of getting on the National
Team. I saw a poster advertising a race across the ocean and
could not get the idea out of my head. I asked my rowing
buddies, they said yes, we moved into the same house, and
without any prior experience besides a love of rowing, we put
our own money down and built a nonprofit. We outfitted the
boat and showed up 18 months later in New York. We raced.
Two days in, one team quit. Three days in, we were stampeded
by thousands of dolphins. Five days in, we were in a hurricane;
and on day sixteen, our teammate in charge of food told us he
did not pack enough. We could not turn back, so we rowed.
We were nearly hit by huge ships. We starved and rowed. We
lost 145 lbs. between the four of us. Seventy-two days later, we
showed up in England. Although it took a while to forgive the
food, we did; we are still friends.
How many expeditions have you been on? I’ve been on
two cross-ocean rows over the north and mid-Atlantic, 72 and
73 days respectively. Biked 3,000 miles from Perth to Sydney.
Twenty days circumnavigating 425 miles of Washington’s
Olympic Peninsula by open dory (my favorite trip). Twenty
days in an ocean rowboat circumnavigating 600 miles around
Vancouver Island; and a ten-day 200-mile trip down the Rio
Grande in a leaky canoe.
You recently appeared on the Today Show discussing one
of your expeditions. Please tell us about that expedition
and your experience on the show. Our second major
expedition, and our first educational expedition, was the
Canadian Wildlife Federation’s Africa to Americas expedition.
We included science, communication and wind and solar
power generation, and partnered with sponsors to create
educational curriculum made available as we rowed. Using
satellites, we were able to communicate with students along
the way. The Today Show was the first of 40 interviews we did
within 25 hours after our rescue and my first one that day.
How did the Educational and School Programs of OARNW
get started? We wanted to keep adventuring and we needed a
bigger reason. We realized that sharing our story often created
teaching opportunities. Adding the education aspect creates a
lot of personal meaning. It’s fun to share.
What is the story behind your first book, Rowing Into
the Son: Four Young Men Crossing the North Atlantic,
released last year. Are there more on the way? It took
six years to write. I got my ego battered by a fair number of
publishers. I was most fearful of the editing process and my
first manuscript was sent back with the orders to cut it in half.
Scared the hell out of me, but I ended up loving it. I have more
to write. I will start writing and see what happens.
What other projects are you working on? Nearly all of what
I do is connected -- the trips, the writing, education. What I’m
working to develop next is a public speaking aspect.
What are some of the day-to-day challenges you face in
your work? Balance. I’m working on things I’m passionate
about and that can be overwhelming. I have to do the things
that keep me a whole, balanced and multidimensional person.
Was there a particular event that, or person who, sparked
your interest in your chosen career path? I always loved to
read, and throughout my life, there has been a desire to write.
Travel was also a value instilled in me. I guess my life today
remains a constant search for the best expression of both of
those.
Did specific teachers, classes, or programs at Sandia Prep
influence your career path? If so, how? All my history
teachers: Mr. Briley, Mrs. Klein, Mr. Baumgartel and Mr. Ryder.
History is my thing. I love stories, and those fostered a curiosity
in the world around me. It made me want to make some stories
of my own and see as much as I could. Also, in English, Mr.
Fitzpatrick and Mrs. Libbey; Mr. Dahrling in math; Coach
Owens; Mr. Hudock in photo; and Mr. Buxbaum in science.
What type of Sandia Prep student were you? I did pretty
well in English, History and Photo but I struggled with Math.
I understood science concepts, but when the math came up it
was rough.
How did Sandia Prep’s program help you? The school offers
a good balance with academics and athletics. I think Mens sana
in corpore sano (“A healthy mind in a healthy body”) is a Sandia
Prep value, one I especially see in hindsight. I feel like that’s an
important part of creating productive and happy individuals.
How did your experience at Sandia Prep influence the
person you are today? I was much more prepared for college
than a lot of other kids. I got the tools at Sandia Prep, but for
me, it took a little while longer to appreciate and learn how to
use them. I’m still learning.
(continued on page 26)
11 532 • Fall 2013