Derrick Carpenter and Jason Zellner, members of the University of Pennsylvania Master of Applied Positive Psychology class of 2007, will be riding their bicycles from Vancouver, British Columbia to Rosarito, Mexico this fall. Their approximately two- thousand-mile journey is taking place from August 25^th to October 13^th, 2007. Though each of these individuals has embarked on various expeditions in the past, this time around, the prospect of the adventure feels different to them – more collective, more communal. This, they found, is in no small part due to the extraordinary bonds they built with their MAPP classmates over the past year.

In an attempt to harness this connection, to get other people involved, and to give their ride a sense of meaning, Derrick and Jason are collaborating with the MAPP Alumni Association to use their bike trip as an inspiring opportunity to springboard the 2007 MAPP scholarship fundraising campaign, which will raise scholarship money for future MAPP students. While members of the MAPP alumni community are encouraged to donate what funds they can, the ultimate fundraising goal of the 2007 fundraising campaign is to achieve a 100% alumni giving rate – a goal that, if achieved, will make a remarkable and empowering statement about the MAPP program and its future, only one year after the program’s first graduates earned their degrees.

While these collective fundraising efforts will help provide Derrick and Jason with the psychological fuel needed to complete their ride, these efforts will also make possible the journeys of future MAPP students in years to come.