On March 12 in the Tostrud Center parking lot, the St. Olaf Athletics Department hosted a polar plunge to fundraise for Special Olympics Minnesota. Even in the snowy weather, over 300 students registered to plunge, raising a grand total of $30,455. 

The original fundraising goal was $20,000, but St. Olaf and the surrounding Northfield community stepped up to surpass that target by over $10,000. St. Olaf Swim & Dive raised the most money as a team, a considerable $5,892. The St. Olaf Football Team was close behind them on the leaderboard, raising $4,995, and the team “Arctic Avengers” from Affinity Plus Credit Union in Northfield raised $3,294.  

While the cold, snowy weather was not a part of the plan, individual students, teams, and staff all plunged to show their support for the Special Olympics. 

“It was snowing. By the time I was outside without shoes on, it was already cold, and it couldn’t get colder,” Anna Hedrick ’29 said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. Hedrick is a freshman on the St. Olaf Volleyball Team, who ended up raising over $500 and placing herself in the top 10 for the individual leaderboard.  

Looking closer at the individual leaderboard, St. Olaf’s very own athletic director, Kelly Mahlum, set the bar, raising $700 for this event. Close behind Mahlum, raising $651, was Evelyn Kreft ’27, a member of the St. Olaf Volleyball Team.

In an interview with The Olaf Messenger, Kreft remarked on how important this event was to her. “The event was incredibly meaningful to me because it was amazing to see everyone, students and teams alike, cheering each other through the snow and celebrating our coaches as they took the plunge,” she said. “It perfectly captured the spirit of community and encouragement that St. Olaf fosters and showed how much the college is committed to supporting important causes.”