The Review

Issue date: 4/17/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Courtesy of John Visconi Senior John Visconi will bike across the country to benefit a variety of charities this summer. [Click to enlarge]

Imagine being hunched over a racing bike, your legs burning from the constant cycling, sweat running down your forehead into your eyes, the sun blazing. Though you have just hit mile 15, you still have 60 more miles to go before you hit your destination. That is what senior John Visconi will be doing this summer, all for a good cause.

Visconi will be the first student from the university to participate in Journey of Hope, a cross-country bicycle trek that begins in San Francisco and Seattle and ends in Washington, D.C.

The Journey of Hope, which is an event sponsored by Push America, raises funds and awareness for people with disabilities. Visconi and 90 other participants from colleges all over the United States will be split into three teams that will each take different routes across the country. In each city where they stop, the teams will have a "friendship visit" with a local organization that works with people with disabilities. Team members will spend time with the people in these centers and organize activities such as baseball games, bowling or dances.

Visconi initially found out about the program through his fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi. Push America is the national philanthropy of Pi Kappa Phi, the only fraternity that owns and operates its own philanthropy.

Visconi recalls attending a national conference about Push America as the vice president of his chapter at the time.

"They showed us a slide show about some of things they've done and the people they've worked with," Visconi said. "And the stories of the individuals - you can't beat the emotional aspect of it. That turned me on right there. I knew I was going to try to do something."

Visconi's parents were vehemently opposed to the idea when he first mentioned it. He had just torn his Anterior Cruciate Ligament and was unable to complete any physical activity from the end of last October until the end of this past February. He then wrote a three-page essay on why he wanted to participate in the Journey of Hope. They ultimately said "yes."

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