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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 <strong>532</strong> • <strong>Fall</strong> 2013
On June 10, 2006, four college friends, Dylan LeValley, Greg Spooner, Brad Vickers, and Jordan Hanssen ’00, stepped into a 29-foot rowboat as the only American competitors in the first North Atlantic Rowing Race, pulling across the northern ocean. This is lead rower and Sandia Prep alumnus Jordan Hanssen’s ’00 intimate account of team OAR Northwest’s journey, starting from New York Harbor, catching the Gulf Stream current, and making the final dramatic push for the finish line. Hurricane-level winds, giant eddies, passing freighters, flying fish, and sharks, are all elements of the voyage, as the race comes to a tense head on day 17. With another 55 days to go the crew realizes their food supplies are running out and they must drastically restrict their eating. Read how the adventure plays out. “Jordan Hanssen has proven he can write true adventure as well as live it, by rowing across the ominous Atlantic Ocean. Truly an epic of adventure and perseverance, this is great inspiration for anyone who thinks of someday tackling the impossible.” - Clive Cussler Best-selling American adventure novelist Join Jordan for a special evening where he will share his adventures. December 4, 2013 @ 6:00 p.m. McCall Family Theater at Sandia Prep
Page 1 and 2: 532 Fall 2013 osuna road A magazine
Page 3 and 4: 13 15 17 Features 13 Faculty Profil
Page 5 and 6: Letter from the Head of School Dear
Page 7 and 8: Alumni Weekend & Thomas Ebel Alumni
Page 9 and 10: ’00s Robert Salazar ’01 is work
Page 11: From the Archive SPS Writes its His
Page 16: Student Profile Elena Saavedra Buck
Page 19 and 20: As we move on from high school, I c
Page 21 and 22: Beyond Boundaries: SPS Around the W
Page 23 and 24: The Faculty Wall History teacher Ro
Page 25 and 26: NOCHE de celebracion 2014 Save the
Page 27 and 28: What’s coming up? Sandia Prep Cal

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