At 3 a.m. the morning of January 7, 太阳城网赌平台大一新生尼克·克劳迪奥被狂风拍打尼龙帐篷的声音惊醒. Wearing four layers to protect against the cold, 他准备在艰苦的条件下徒步旅行一天. In seven hours, if all went well, 他将实现一个非凡的目标:登上非洲最高峰, without being able to see it.
“一切都在为那天做准备，我觉得自己准备好了，”他说. “我记得我当时想，‘我要做这件事，它会很棒的.’"
The story of Claudio’s journey to Mt. 乞力马扎罗山在他认真考虑这次旅行之前就开始了. Diagnosed with cancer at the age of 9, 克劳迪奥在手术中失去了视力，手术是为了从他的大脑中移除一个橙色大小的肿瘤. Two years later, two more tumors emerged, 他被转到塔夫茨医疗中心的漂浮儿童医院, where he underwent radiation and chemotherapy.
In 2012, 克劳迪奥的家人申请了最近成立的旅行治疗援助计划由 Endure to Cure这是一个儿童癌症基金会，为面临癌症的儿童家庭提供支持. 他们得到了财政援助，以支付与频繁治疗有关的一些旅费, along with a visit from the foundation’s founder, Jason Sissel.
西塞尔和克劳迪奥建立了友谊，因为他们都喜欢户外活动. After losing his vision, Claudio had taken up downhill skiing, and later even taught himself to waterski. 他告诉西塞尔，他喜欢徒步旅行，希望有一天能爬上一座山.
“I said, ‘Wait, you know I climb mountains, right?’” recalled Sissel. “I said, ‘Tell you what, once you beat this thing, if you want to climb a mountain with me, let me know.’ And that’s how it all began.”
The journey to the summit
At 19,341 feet of elevation, Mt. 乞力马扎罗山是世界上最高的独立山, 从任何方向几英里外都能看到雪峰. 徒步旅行者在到达山顶的途中要经过五个不同的气候带, including dense rainforest, moorland, and glaciers.
'Team Nick' at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Sissel, Claudio, and Claudio’s childhood friend, Zech, 1月1日，他们与塔斯克小道的一组向导和另外两名“忍受治疗”成员一起开始了他们的长途跋涉. 在最初的几天里，克劳迪奥用登山杖在崎岖不平的地面上行走. When the trail grew rockier and more winding, he switched tactics, gripping the backpack of the person in front of him.
“如果我抓住一个人，我可以准确地说出他们用的是哪只脚，他们在哪里踩,” he explained. “So I just followed their footsteps.”
最具挑战性的一天是在徒步旅行的中途, 冰雪天气让克劳迪奥独自徒步旅行变得不安全. 他让导游带着他走过最糟糕的路段，但他对此并不高兴. That evening, he and Sissel discussed his frustration, and by morning, 克劳迪奥重新振作起来，准备挑战著名的巴兰科墙——这是一堵850英尺高的头墙，需要徒步旅行者用四肢攀爬.
“当我还是个孩子的时候，妈妈让我上了六年的攀岩课, so I was in my element,” Claudio recalled. “我抓着Ben的背包，我们就像什么都没做一样爬上了岩石, finding footholds really quickly. 我觉得那是一个转折点，我知道我会好起来的.”
第七天，西塞尔和克劳迪奥冒着大风、大雨和冰雹，到达了山顶. Kilimanjaro. Underneath the worn wooden sign, 他们举着“忍受治愈”的横幅摆姿势拍照, celebrating an accomplishment six years in the making.
克劳迪奥说:“对我来说，这太棒了，但也是一个非常超现实的时刻。. “I was thinking, ‘Is this happening? Is this physically possible?’ It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.”
At home at BC
克劳迪奥找不出他选择太阳城网赌平台的确切原因. There’s the campus, which felt peaceful despite its proximity to Boston, he said, and the emphasis on interdisciplinary education, 是什么鼓励学生在专业之外学习.
Nick on the BC campus. (Gary Wayne Gilbert)
“The people were also a huge factor,” he said. “这里有一种社区意识，每个人都互相照顾，互相关心. It’s very different from other colleges I’ve been to.”
在莫里西文理学院读大一的时候, Claudio is busy with classes and extracurriculars. He’s a member of The Common Tones of Boston College, an a capella group, 他在宿舍的宿舍委员会任职，是学生权益倡导的副主席. 他主修历史和哲学双学位，希望成为一名社会太阳城官网教师.
克劳迪奥在BC大学庞大的校园里游自如，这要归功于他在夏季的定向和移动专家的练习课程，以及他在记忆路线方面的天赋. 他在某些课程上使用笔记，并在需要时延长作业时间, but otherwise, 他的大学经历与同龄人相似.
“我可能没有比这更好的大学开始了，”他承认. “It’s going pretty well so far.”
Learning from the challenge
When he signed on to climb Mt. 在乞力马扎罗山，克劳迪奥不确定接下来会发生什么. He knew what the mountain meant to Sissel, 在他第一次长途跋涉的中途，他决定放弃华尔街的职业生涯，开始“忍受治疗”. 他知道，登顶需要他在身体上和精神上都努力.
Jason and Nick at Shira Camp.
根据Sissel的说法，双重挑战正是使这次旅行变革性的原因.
“That’s what makes it special,” he said. “当你在登山时，你必须不断调整和适应，否则你就会失败. 我希望尼克回顾这段经历，记住他所取得的成就，这让他对未知充满信心.”
尽管他还在思考这次远足对他的意义, 克劳迪奥注意到，自从今年1月回到山庄后，他的看法发生了变化.
“Things don’t seem as hard,” he acknowledged. “I have this sense that I can do anything.”
这次经历强化了克劳迪奥在接受癌症治疗时学到的东西:挫折是不可避免的, but how you handle them is within your control.
“I mean, stuff happens,” he said. “There’s no exception to the rule. 没有人不会面临挑战. But there’s always a way out, and there’s always a purpose to things, whether or not you can see it now. 总能从中得到一些东西，或者学到一些东西.”
—Alix Hackett | University Communications | May 2019