Heading into this pandemic winter, staff and faculty knew it was more important than ever to get students outdoors—to socialize, recreate, and find inspiration. With the help of donors, faculty, and staff from all corners of campus collaborated to transform Northland into a winter wonderland.

Memorial Medical Center, the Bock Foundation, and Northland Trustee Jim Hagstrom and his wife Beth provided $61,000 in total to purchase grooming and ski equipment for use on the re-established Northland Nordic ski trails, build an outdoor skating rink, organize weekend snowshoe, ice climbing, and Nordic ski outings, and provide students with ski passes to Mt. Ashwabay.

“With winter such a big part of our normal year it makes so much sense for Northland to embrace it and foster ideas like these to get students outside and active,” Hagstrom said. “They will remember these activities going forward and hopefully the news will spread about the fun of Northland both inside and outside the classroom.”