SFDCI Graduate Returns from i2P Baffin Island Expedition, Ready to Make School Presentations

(Lombardy) – Tamara Banks, a Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute (SFDCI) graduate and impossible2Possible (i2P) youth ambassador, has just returned from the i2P’s Baffin Island Expedition, a 10-day, 130-kilometer trek across Nunavut’s icy Akshayuk Pass that was created to help inspire and educate students across North America.

Now, she and i2P founder Ray Zahab are ready to travel to Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) schools to make presentations about their motivational journey.

“It was unbelievable,” Banks said. “It was quite the experience, that’s for sure. I learned more than I thought I would.”

Earlier this year Banks was chosen by educational adventure company i2P to be one of five youth ambassadors who, along with seven i2P guides, spent the first two weeks of September hiking, camping and experiencing the region’s great outdoors.

“Each day we’d wake up, boil water for breakfast, hike from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., have dinner, set up camp and go to bed,” Banks said. “The next day we’d do it all over.”

Throughout their journey, the group posted blog entries, videos and podcasts on i2P’s Web site for students in Canada and the United States to follow. Educational modules were also posted to accompany the team’s communication and to help students learn about climate, culture, history and survival tips.

“We would write on a MacBook that was connected to a modem, and the modem was connected to a satellite phone,” she said. “That part was kind of interesting because it was really slow. If the satellite went out of range, the connection would fail. We’d be sitting there sending it over and over.”

A temperamental Internet connection was not the only challenge Banks and her team faced.

“The terrain was so difficult,” she said. “When we got there, we put on our packs, which were unbelievably heavy, and we started walking. The next morning I thought, ‘how the heck am I going to do this?’ But the more difficult it was, the more rewarded I felt.” 

And that reward Banks has felt in more ways than one.

“It was so motivating to be put in a secluded environment where you’re pushed physically and mentally,” she said. “It makes little tasks back home seem so easy because I never thought I’d be able to do this. Everything else seems so small. This trip definitely showed me that I can push myself way harder than I thought I could.”

Since returning, Banks has set many future goals including running a marathon, becoming bilingual and living a healthier lifestyle – all of which seemed unreachable to her before.

“It’s very different now,” she said. “I want to do so much. I want to achieve more.”

Another one of her goals is to gain the interest of schools throughout the UCDSB so that she and Zahab can make presentations and inspire students to go the distance. 

Zahab, an ultra-marathoner and adventurer, is looking forward to personally sharing photos and experiences with students, as well as introducing i2P’s Extraordinary Acts program. This initiative is for students who are inspired by the accomplishments of i2P youth ambassadors and want to make their own difference either socially or environmentally.

“All we do is tell the stories and provide the inspiration,” Zahab said. “We want to engage schools and encourage them to identify something they’re passionate about.”

Zahab said students can make a difference through a variety of initiatives including tree planting or bake sale fundraising for their favourite charity. Once students have come up with an idea, they can contact the i2P team who will log their act on the i2P Web site.

“A lot of times we have schools contact us for ideas or they come up with their own,” he said.

To learn more about school presentations, the Extraordinary Acts program or upcoming i2P expeditions, please visit http://www.impossible2possible.com/ or use the contact information below.

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For more information please call:

Ray Zahab                                                      Bob Cox

Founder                                                          Executive Director

impossible2Possible                                       impossible2Possible

613-868-2888                                                  bcox@impossible2possible.com

rzahab@impossible2possible.com

Posted September 25, 2009