Behind the Limits Crew–Dr. J, Tong Liu, Meghan Legassie, Monica Hewitt, Saint
Life can be hard. Every person must face challenges. BEYOND LIMITS is a program where groups of people come together to do what would normally be impossible alone. Dr. Jacqui Lowman started the program to show her students that through teamwork, many things are possible.
It started when Dr. Lowman, who cannot walk, decided to climb Mt. Katahdin. With a group of 15 others and a home-base team, they did what seemed impossible. After tackling Mt. Katahdin, the next goal was to hike the Appalachian Trail. Mt. Katahdin is the northern end of the trail.
Students Meghan Legassie, Monica Hewitt, Tong Liu and Erin Keehn served as Dr. Lowman’s home base team. Liu created their YouTube channel. Legassie and Hewitt stayed in touch with Dr. Lowman and would upload pictures to the BEYOND LIMITS social media.
All students had to learn new things fast, and as the hike changed, so did their jobs.
“Some of the best stuff was off the cuff,” Hewitt said. “We had very little time to plan.”
When the program first started, the students learned by doing. It was a first for them and seemed hard at the beginning. Legassie would make phone calls to strangers in different states to help plan the next hike.
“I’m a very quiet, shy and anxious person,” Legassie said. “I remember just dreading to make phone calls.” Since then she now feels like she can do anything that she puts her mind to.
Liu is an international student from China. Building the YouTube channel was a fun way for him to show his family back home what he is doing.
“I learned how to use teamwork,” Liu said. “And how to be a professional.”
These students came from different walks of life. They came together from worlds far apart. Each student would not have been able to do as much alone. Together they push and challenge one another. They prove that through teamwork, the impossible can be made possible.
BEYOND LIMITS has helped Dr. Lowman climb mountains in Georgia, Virginia and Kentucky. This team has shown the world that together people can accomplish things that others believe to be impossible.
