Nate Higgins
Swim With Mike scholarship recipient Nate Higgins and his friend Micah Pippo will swim the Golden Gate Bridge to raise awareness for the Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund. Support their amazing efforts by making a donation on Nate’s fundraising page. For more information, read the press release and check out the links below.
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Press Release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Paraplegic attempts Golden Gate Bridge swim to Raise Awareness for Swim With Mike
Nate Higgins and Micah Pippo
San Francisco, California, August 11, 2012—Nate Higgins, a 27-year-old paraplegic swimmer will attempt to swim 1.6 miles in the frigid waters spanning the Golden Gate Bridge as part of the Shark Fest Swim series without a wet suit making him possibly the first person with his disability ever to do so. The epic swim is meant to fundraise and gain exposure for the Swim With Mike Foundation. Swim With Mike provides financial resources for higher education that paves the way for physically challenged athletes to overcome their tragedies and realize their full potential.
A work related accident Nate suffered in July of 2004 immediately after graduating from high school left him paralyzed from the chest down. In high school Nate was the captain of his high school wrestling and cross country teams, and tried anything he could apply his competitive spirit to. After the accident he spent over a year in rehabilitation struggling to come to terms with his new life and what he thought were his limits. He would soon discover a new passion when he was introduced to swimming as part of his rehabilitation. Swimming would lead him to the non-profit organization Swim With Mike and a scholarship that would empower him not only to continue pursuing his education, but to become truly limitless.
Nate Higgins with Swim With Mike's Mike Nyeholt
Since his accident in July of 2004, Nate has completed several daring open water swims without a wet suit including: Alcatraz, the Columbia River, Idaho’s Lake Pend Oreille and Washington’s Lake Sammamish. Nate also represented the United States at the Para Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico this last fall. This will be his most difficult challenge yet.
Today Nate works as a research associate for Glacier Peak Capital Management in Bellevue, Washington.
To learn more about Nate Higgins, check out his SWM recipient bio, a YouTube video of a documentary Gonzaga University completed on Nate in 2011, and Nate’s swimming blog. Click here for more info on the Golden Gate Shark Fest Swim.
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