A group of Tufts swimmers and divers became lifeguards this summer-but it's not what you think.
Rather than sitting high above the water, these students plunged into the ocean at Nantasket Beach to participate in the annual Swim Across America, an event that raises money to support research and quality of life services for cancer survivors.
The one-mile swim, which took place on July 15, was a challenge even for the experienced NESCAC athletes.
"A mile in the ocean is tough. It was so cold," senior Claire Pigula said of the 63-degree water. "There's no place to rest, you have the waves to fight with, and you hardly know if you're swimming in a straight line."
Sophomore James Longhurst agreed.
"When you are swimming in the ocean with your head down and the waves pushing you it is nearly impossible to head straight for the markers," he said. "Instead you have to continue to pick your head up every 20 strokes or so just to make sure you are not swimming out into the deep sea."
Despite the challenges, the swimmers were motivated by the chance to support the Perini Quality of Life Clinic at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
"I wanted to be able to show my support for the fight against something that kills half a million Americans a year," Longhurst said. "Now that the event is over it feels good that I chose to support this cause instead of making excuses not to do it."
In addition to the one-mile swim, the event included a relay and several speakers.
"One speaker was a woman who had gone through multiple kinds of cancer, and had been in and out of remission. She was really active in raising money and awareness. It was a nice reminder of what we were swimming for," Pigula said.
Sophomore Lindsay Gardel raised over $11,000, making her the event's top fundraiser. Her motivation was more personal; she swam in memory of her father, who died from cancer last December.
In order to raise the money, participants wrote letters and asked family members for support.
"I sent out letters, even to a lot of people I didn't even know," Gardel said.
Pigula found that most people were happy to donate.
"It's good because everyone knows somebody who has been affected by cancer, so it's a chance for people to donate to a cause that is close to them, when they wouldn't go out and donate to an organization themselves. If someone gives them a way, they will," she said.
According to the Swim Across America Web site, the entire Nantasket Beach event raised about $300,000, and the program raised over $2.5 million nationwide. Gardel explained that the funds raised at the various events would be put to good use at Dana-Farber.
"[The money] goes to promoting cancer survivors' quality of life. A lot of the cancer treatments have side effects, like heart problems for example, so it helps people who have gone through the treatments," she said.
Tufts was not the only NESCAC team in attendance, which made the event especially unique, because rival schools were united for a common goal. Swimmers from seven league schools-Trinity College, Hamilton College, Amherst College, Middlebury College, Wesleyan University, Williams College and Tufts-raised more than $40,000 collectively.
"A lot of NESCAC teams came out, and they all came together," Pigula said. "That was cool because you usually are competing against those teams."
Pigula also was glad to have participated, and said that she was definitely considering swimming again next year.
"It's easy to not really be involved in big things, but it's nice to know that I did something. They're doing good research with the money and it's nice to be a part of it," Pigula said.
