Ann Bancroft, the internationally acclaimed polar explorer, spoke at Hamilton on Thursday, October 18, about experiences and triumphs during her career as a polar traveler. She first spoke at the College 11 years ago, shortly after her 1992-1993 expedition. Bancroft was the first woman to reach the Arctic Pole on ice, which she accomplished on May 4, 1986. On January 14, 1993 she and three other women became the first women to lead an all female expedition to the Antarctic Pole. They were also the first to reach the pole without any corporate sponsorship. Then in 2001 Bancroft and a fellow female explorer, Liv Arnesen, became the first women to cross the continent of Antarctica. Her lecture focused on the difficulties of entering the field and then developing a viable and meaningful career out of her lifelong passion.
She opened her speech with a quote from author/adventurer Beryl Markham which clearly articulates her life as an explorer: "I learned to wander, I learned what every dreaming child needs to know -- that no horizon is so far that you cannot get about it or beyond it." Bancroft had two dreams as a child. One was to become an Arctic explorer, which was a passion of hers since the age of eight, when she read The Endurance by Caroline Alexander. It recounted the life of another Antarctic explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton, and also exposed Bancroft to the thrilling and harsh life of a polar explorer. Her other passion was the education of children. Prior to her trip in the early 1980s Bancroft taught at a kindergarten through 8th grade school in Minneapolis. Though she left the school once she joined her first expedition, she said she continued to feel a deep connection to children and teaching.
Her career as an explorer began with the 1986 expedition to the Arctic pole with seven men. She described the trip as arduous, with freezing cold temperatures, constant wind and shifting ice. On the other hand, she said, the experience excited her each day and made her feel alive, especially as they approached the pole. Still, she stated that she "felt empty" as they approached and reached the pole, a feeling she soon realized was do to the absence of children and teaching in her life. From that point forward Bancroft sought to combine her passion for teaching with her love of polar exploration.
In preparation for her 1992-1993 trip, in which she intended to lead a team of four women across Antarctica, Bancroft and some fellow teachers devised a curriculum that would allow children to follow her progress during the expedition. By the end of their journey, in which they were able to reach the Antarctic pole but failed to traverse the continent, Bancroft had more than 250,000 children participating in her Antarctic curriculum. The children followed their progress through radio communications and incorporated the exploration into all their fields of study, from mathematics and geography to English and history. Bancroft says that the involvement of children in her exploration is her greatest joy and was a huge driving force during the difficult weeks they spent on the solid, dry and windy continent.
One of Bancroft's most difficult and frustrating experiences as an explorer came when she tried to get sponsorship for her expedition in 1992. She spent three years lobbying companies to support her all-female exploration but could never get any funding. Most of the companies and CEOs told her they "thought it would be irresponsible to support a woman's expedition," so Bancroft and her fellow explorers raised the money on their own through a grass-roots campaign. As a result they were the first explorers in Antarctica to reach the pole without corporate funding. While Bancroft considered this a fantastic accomplishment, it angered her that she could not receive support because she was a woman.
Bancroft's 2001-2002 expedition across Antarctica with Liv Arnesen is considered by many, including herself, to be her biggest achievement. Her trip accomplished many important goals for Bancroft. First, through the Internet and satellite communications more than three million children around the world tracked their progress across the continent. Sharing this experience with others, especially children, was one of the most important aspects of the trip for Bancroft. She was also able to receive corporate sponsorship for this expedition, which she considered important to her success as an explorer. Finally she achieved an important personal goal by successfully skiing and ski-sailing across the entire Antarctic landmass in spite of extremely unfavorable conditions for the excursion.
Bancroft's speech focused on the strong contrasts she has encountered as an explorer. She saw beauty in the landscape, yet constantly fought to overcome harsh wind and cold. On any given day she could laugh and joke one moment and break into tears of depression the next. A key discovery for Bancroft was that laughter every day was necessary for her to complete her journey. She also needed focus, which she found when she began combining children's education with her explorations. The lecture summarized Bancroft's reflection on her ability to blend her two passions, children's education and polar exploration, and the personal satisfaction she obtained through this combination.
-- by Ryan Seewald '10
She opened her speech with a quote from author/adventurer Beryl Markham which clearly articulates her life as an explorer: "I learned to wander, I learned what every dreaming child needs to know -- that no horizon is so far that you cannot get about it or beyond it." Bancroft had two dreams as a child. One was to become an Arctic explorer, which was a passion of hers since the age of eight, when she read The Endurance by Caroline Alexander. It recounted the life of another Antarctic explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton, and also exposed Bancroft to the thrilling and harsh life of a polar explorer. Her other passion was the education of children. Prior to her trip in the early 1980s Bancroft taught at a kindergarten through 8th grade school in Minneapolis. Though she left the school once she joined her first expedition, she said she continued to feel a deep connection to children and teaching.
Her career as an explorer began with the 1986 expedition to the Arctic pole with seven men. She described the trip as arduous, with freezing cold temperatures, constant wind and shifting ice. On the other hand, she said, the experience excited her each day and made her feel alive, especially as they approached the pole. Still, she stated that she "felt empty" as they approached and reached the pole, a feeling she soon realized was do to the absence of children and teaching in her life. From that point forward Bancroft sought to combine her passion for teaching with her love of polar exploration.
In preparation for her 1992-1993 trip, in which she intended to lead a team of four women across Antarctica, Bancroft and some fellow teachers devised a curriculum that would allow children to follow her progress during the expedition. By the end of their journey, in which they were able to reach the Antarctic pole but failed to traverse the continent, Bancroft had more than 250,000 children participating in her Antarctic curriculum. The children followed their progress through radio communications and incorporated the exploration into all their fields of study, from mathematics and geography to English and history. Bancroft says that the involvement of children in her exploration is her greatest joy and was a huge driving force during the difficult weeks they spent on the solid, dry and windy continent.
One of Bancroft's most difficult and frustrating experiences as an explorer came when she tried to get sponsorship for her expedition in 1992. She spent three years lobbying companies to support her all-female exploration but could never get any funding. Most of the companies and CEOs told her they "thought it would be irresponsible to support a woman's expedition," so Bancroft and her fellow explorers raised the money on their own through a grass-roots campaign. As a result they were the first explorers in Antarctica to reach the pole without corporate funding. While Bancroft considered this a fantastic accomplishment, it angered her that she could not receive support because she was a woman.
Bancroft's 2001-2002 expedition across Antarctica with Liv Arnesen is considered by many, including herself, to be her biggest achievement. Her trip accomplished many important goals for Bancroft. First, through the Internet and satellite communications more than three million children around the world tracked their progress across the continent. Sharing this experience with others, especially children, was one of the most important aspects of the trip for Bancroft. She was also able to receive corporate sponsorship for this expedition, which she considered important to her success as an explorer. Finally she achieved an important personal goal by successfully skiing and ski-sailing across the entire Antarctic landmass in spite of extremely unfavorable conditions for the excursion.
Bancroft's speech focused on the strong contrasts she has encountered as an explorer. She saw beauty in the landscape, yet constantly fought to overcome harsh wind and cold. On any given day she could laugh and joke one moment and break into tears of depression the next. A key discovery for Bancroft was that laughter every day was necessary for her to complete her journey. She also needed focus, which she found when she began combining children's education with her explorations. The lecture summarized Bancroft's reflection on her ability to blend her two passions, children's education and polar exploration, and the personal satisfaction she obtained through this combination.
-- by Ryan Seewald '10
