Washington and Lee University
Alumni of Washington and Lee go on to do remarkable things following their days on campus. If you know of a classmate who is up to big things, or a unique story involving a W&L graduate, please contact the alumni office to share the story.
Scott was part of a 3-person expedition team who successfully summitted Aconcagua, in the Andes of Argentina along the Chilean border. At 22,834 feet above sea level, Aconcagua is the tallest mountain in the western hemisphere. It is the second highest of the world's "Seven Summits" (behind Everest), the tallest mountain on each of the seven continents. The team spent more than two weeks climbing and acclimating to the extreme altitude. Scott and his group reached the summit 3:30 p.m. on January 29, 2008 after about 8-1/2 hours of climbing.
Jon Pakula displays the Trident flag during his dive.
For two weeks on a liveaboard dive boat in August of 2007, Jon Pakula (82A) went to the remote and uninhabited Cocos island some 350 miles out into the Pacific Ocean southwest of Coast Rica. Cocos island (known as the Island of Sharks) is featured every summer during Shark week on the the Discovery Channel . It is also the island which Robert Louis Stevenson wrote about as Treasure Island. It has arguable the most prolific and varied shark life of any location on the planet. Hammerhead, Silvertip, Silky, Galapagos, Tiger, and White tip sharks are found in incredible numbers in these highly protected waters. Jon is seen here trying to keep the Trident flying (with the help of a fellow diver) in the significant current often found in these waters. The fellow in the gray suit seen above him and to left is an 8 to 9 foot Silvertip shark found at a site named oddly enough Silverado.