Winter at Westminster Stomps Into 4th Year

Students Flock From over 10 States to Participate in the Unique Study-Abroad Alternative

SALT LAKE CITY – College students from across the country are already experiencing Utah’s legendary powder, Olympic venues, and meeting snow industry leaders as Westminster kicks off the fourth year of its popular Winter at Westminster (W@W) program.

This semester, 27 students from across the country flocked to the W@W program to study full time, and get a taste of “the Greatest Snow on Earth”.

“I can pretty much tell you that this is by far the best semester and time of my life,” said Brian Muller, W@W student and New Jersey native. “The activities this program has, as well as the internships that I participate in really educate you and get you ready for a potential job in the ski industry, or wherever you would like.”

Liz Rogers, W@W coordinator, describes this year’s program.

“Winter at Westminster 2008 is going strong,” said Liz Rogers, program coordinator. “We are enjoying an incredible season of Utah powder with a base of over 100 inches and snow-to-date at over 25 feet!”

When asked, what have they done so far? Rogers replies, “We've been to six local resorts, raced each other in a biathlon competition, cheered on an avalanche dog digging up a patroller, helped launch new technology at The Canyons with Tagthemountain.com, and watched a video of the handcycle Olympian Chris Waddell is going to use to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. In short, we're loving it!”

W@W is a unique study-abroad alternative that challenges students academically as well as physically by allowing them to ski or ride 50+ days, participate in a wide variety of winter recreation activities and take 12-16 transferable college credits to stay on track for graduation.

This year’s activities include a full schedule of skiing at seven world-class resorts, to include the Canyons, Alta, Snowbird, Snowbasin, Park City Mountain Resort, Solitude and Brighton; avalanche certification; Nordic jumping; extreme rafting at the Utah Olympic Park and ski industry lectures, just to name a few.

Westminster is a nationally recognized, comprehensive liberal arts college. With a broad array of graduate and undergraduate programs, Westminster is distinguished by its unique environment for learning. Westminster prepares students for success through active and engaged learning, real world experiences and its vibrant campus community. Westminster’s unique location, adjacent to the Rocky Mountains and to the dynamic city of Salt Lake, further enriches the college experience. For more information on W@W, visit www.westminstercollege.edu/snow.