15 May 2019

HACC Employees ‘Step’ into Outer Space

HARRISBURG, Pa. – HACC employees who celebrated the arrival of spring by joining a six-week fitness challenge collectively racked up more than 96 million steps, or 48,205 miles.
 
Aimee Brough
A total of 258 employees, either competing solo or grouped into one of 29 teams,  answered the challenge issued by the Wellness Committee at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College.

Their daunting task was to figuratively reach the moon some 238,900 miles away between March 11 and April 21, 2019.

“During the last six weeks, 258 of us left behind the relative safety of terra firma and launched into space, one step at a time. Our destination – the moon,” said Aimee Brough, HACC’s vice president of human resources.

The goal was admittedly ambitious. “Last year’s event reflected the number of steps walked around the globe. This year, we looked to space as a way to encourage participants to really challenge themselves and each other. People have walked on the moon, but has anyone walked to the moon?” Brough said.
 
Justin Bichler
How far did they go? “To put it into perspective, covering that distance (48,205 miles) in a car traveling at 60 miles per hour would take almost 166 days of non-stop driving,” Brough said.

On April 25, participants learned they achieved 20% of the goal – which is more than four times the 11,957 miles walked during the spring 2018 challenge.

The six winning teams walked more than 4 million steps each with “The Fast and Only Slightly Furious” team leading the pack with 5,654,164 steps.

Individually, the most active steppers were Justin Bichler, associate professor of biology at HACC’s Harrisburg Campus, with 1,122,930 steps; Brough with 1,048,455 steps; and Ashley Bear, assistant professor of nursing at HACC’s Gettysburg Campus, with 853,579 steps.

“The Step Challenge is a way to encourage healthy habits and have some fun competition in the process,” Brough said.

About HACC
HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, is the first and largest of Pennsylvania’s 14 community colleges. HACC offers approximately 100 career and transfer associate degree, certificate and diploma programs to approximately 19,000 students. Also, the College serves students at its Gettysburg, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York campuses; through virtual learning; and via workforce development and continuing education training. For more information on how HACC is uniquely YOURS, visit hacc.edu. Also, follow us on Twitter (@HACC_info), follow us on Instagram (@HACC_edu), like us on Facebook (Facebook.com/HACC64) and use #HACCNews