Matt Oka at his job at Boeing

Alumni scholarship recipient Matt Oka and his mother, Julie, tell their story in a new documentary created by SpiritClips, a website that features inspiring videos. The seven-minute short film portrays Matt’s life both before and after his accident including his physical therapy and experiences with Swim With Mike.

Please watch and share the video by clicking here.

Matt Oka recently graduated from USC and now works at Boeing. Click here to read a Q&A with Matt about his job and how Swim With Mike helped him prepare for the professional world.

Click here to read Matt’s recipient profile
Click here to make a donation to the Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund

Iliff School of Theology – M.A. 2013, PHD 2016

Jihoom "David" Kim

Jihoom Kim was born in Seoul Korea and moved to Colorado as a young boy. He loved sports and tried many but had the most success in Tae-Kwon-Do where he earned a first degree black belt and tennis where he played on his high school team. He also competed in soccer and volleyball. As a proud Colorado resident snowboarding was his favorite wintertime pastime. On December 13, 2004 a snowboard accident resulted in a spinal cord injury at the C-5 level and paralysis from the shoulders down. As is common when a young person sees their life drastically changed, Jihoom became seriously depressed. Through his belief in God he was able to overcome his depression and began to plan for the future. He graduated from the University of Colorado in Denver with a degree in Psychology. Through Craig Hospital he met Swim With Mike Alumnus David VanWagener, who encouraged him to apply for a scholarship through Swim With Mike to pursue his dream of becoming a Spiritual Care Counselor and helping others.

A sampling of the silent auction baskets in 2010

The Swim With Mike Silent Auction is one of the most popular attractions at our yearly USC swim-a-thon. Make a donation or ask people you know to help the Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund by supporting the silent auction.

Our past silent auction items included: vacation packages to Bali, Hawaii, Mexico; Dodgers and Angels tickets; hotels; restaurants; golf; spa retreats; wine baskets; sports memorabilia and so much more. All silent auction donors will be listed in our souvenir yearbook, which is distributed to more than 5,000 people.

Download a letter from Don Ludwig (ludwig@usc.edu), silent auction chair, with instructions on how to donate. Please forward to anyone you think might be interested in donating: 2012 Swim With Mike Donation Letter.

And for those hoping to place some bids, we are proud to announce that we will be auctioning a European River Cruise (value: $10,000), courtesy of Viking River Cruises. More details to come!

Want to make a donation of a smaller product in higher quantities? Consider donating to our participant goodie bags! Click here for more information.

See you at the Silent Auction at the 32nd Annual Swim With Mike at USC on April 14, 2012!

The Swim With Mike Yearbook has become the major source of information and public relations about Swim With Mike throughout the year. The yearbook will be distributed to all guests, participants and donors on the day of the event. It will also be handed out at all other Swim With Mike satellite events and will be included in press kits reaching an audience of over 5,000 people. The yearbook will also be mailed to all those who donate $1,000 or more to the event.

DEADLINE FOR ADVERTISING ARTWORK IS MARCH 1, 2012.

Click here for advertising rates and submission information.

University of Southern California – 2014

Jennifer’s started playing basketball in junior high school and it became her passion. She was active in individual sports like cycling until one December day in 2008 when she broke her back in a sledding accident. She dislocated her T10 and T11 vertebrae which bruised her spinal cord resulting in paralysis from the waist down. Not accepting the doctor’s diagnosis that she would never walk again, Jennifer threw that passion into her rehabilitation. Her private high school was not accessible for her wheelchair so she was forced to transfer to a public school where she was able to continue her honors courses and graduate with her class. At USC Jennifer will commit her studies, her research and her focus towards others with spinal cord injuries as she pursues a degree in biomedical engineering.

Click here to view Jennifer’s recipient profile
Learn more about all of our recipients
Click here to make a donation to Swim With Mike

Eric Baker

Eric Baker – Merced, CA

University of Arizona –

Eric cannot remember a time when he was not playing sports. Little league baseball, soccer, basketball and football led to his true calling: swimming and water polo. In his senior year he slipped while diving into the pool for warm ups at a water polo tournament. His head hit the bottom of the pool, breaking his neck at the C6-7 level and leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. Eric was able to graduate with his high school class and move on to Merced Community College where he majored in communications. That competitive fire was alive and he tried all sorts of adapted sports but nothing was quite like wheelchair rugby. Eric transferred to the University of Arizona where he is majoring in psychology with a minor in communication and physiology, competing on the wheelchair rugby team and has plans to pursue a career as a sports psychologist.

Click here for Eric’s recipient profile
Browse all scholarship recipients
Make a donation to the Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund

Find this shirt on the USC Bookstore second floor!

For the second time, the USC Bookstore is selling a special commemorative Swim With Mike t-shirt and donating $5 from each sale to the Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund!

Stop by the USC Bookstore, where the shirt is featured on the second floor, or buy now online! Thank you for your purchase and thanks to the USC Bookstore for their generosity!

From the USC Bookstore website

]]> http://swimwithmike.org/2012/01/swm-t-shirt-available-at-usc-bookstore-online/feed/ 0 http://swimwithmike.org/2012/01/join-the-student-staff/ http://swimwithmike.org/2012/01/join-the-student-staff/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:46:22 +0000 elizabeth http://swimwithmike.org/?p=994 Continue reading →]]>

The first meeting of Swim With Mike student volunteers is TOMORROW, Friday, January 12 at Noon in Heritage Hall’s Varsity Lounge. Swim With Mike at USC would not be possible without all of the hardworking student staff members. There are plenty of positions and committees available for a range of time commitments and skills. We hope to see you there!

Can’t make it? Email swimwithmike@gmail.com to get involved.

Margaret Abdun-Nur dances at her 80th birthday celebration with Swim With Mike displays in the background.

Happy Holidays! Consider making a year-end or holiday gift to Swim With Mike, the Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund. Contribute now at http://swimwithmike.org/donation-form/ or by mailing a check payable to Swim With Mike and send to: Swim With Mike, 3501 Watt Way, Heritage Hall, 203A, Los Angeles, CA 90089.

Make a difference with your next family event or gathering–check out how these members of the Swim With Mike family fundraised in 2011:

Margaret Abdun-Nur, mother of board member Loretta Joseph, recently celebrated her 80th birthday at a party surrounded by her friends and family. The invitation asked people not to bring gifts, but suggested that they could donate to SWM to recognize the occasion.

Here is the text from her invitation so that you can edit and use for your own events:

More than $6,000 was raised! Thank you to Margaret and her family and friends that contributed.

Bruce Fausone

Our condolences to the family of Stanford recipient Molly Fausone, whose grandfather Brewster “Bruce” Fausone passed away in Sept. at the age of 86. His neighbors, friends and family took up a collection in his honor, in lieu of flowers.

“Bruce and Margaret (Molly’s grandmother) had talked often about Molly, her injury, and about an organization that Molly was part of,” said Mary Fausone, Molly’s mother. “They were very proud of her. The neighbors decided that they wanted the donation to go to Bruce’s granddaughter’s organization.  They felt that Bruce would like that–and I agree, he would have liked that.”

Thank you to the family, friends and neighbors of Bruce Fausone that contributed in his memory. Your support is greatly appreciated!

David Van Wagener speaking at a conference.

Q&A with alumni scholarship recipient David Van Wagener. Find out how SWM helped him become a successful engineer.

What is your position and where is your job?
In September I started as an associate engineer at ConocoPhillips in Bartlesville, Oklahoma

What do you do for this position?
I am a research engineer in the CO2 Capture & Avoidance group; one of the components within ConocoPhillips working on Sustainability technologies.

Do you like your new job and why?
The job is great!  The research follows the subject matter that I became an expert in during graduate school.  I really helping an energy company work to be more sustainable.

How did you get the job or find out about it?
I found out about this job through the career center at my school (The University of Texas at Austin).  I applied to the job through the engineering careers web site, interviewed on-campus, and then I attended an on-site visit in Bartlesville for a second, full-day interview.

What did you learn by participating in Swim with Mike that helped you to get this job, or helps you to do this job?
Swim with Mike taught me that although getting into a school/job can seem like a monumental task due to whatever challenges lie ahead (physical disabilities, required qualifications, etc.), it’s important not to immediately pass on certain opportunities because you think they might not work.  Relocating to Bartlesville seemed absurd for a quadriplegic like myself with many needs, but so far things have been doing great.

Anything else you want to say your mention?
Swim with Mike was a great support for me throughout eight years of undergrad and graduate school.  I hope that continued support can help influence more young adults to return to school in order to place themselves in a great job!