Chase Rogers, Eta Chi (Texas Christian)
Event: Journey of Hope, Cyclist
Hometown: Evergreen, Colorado
Why did you sign up for this event?
I have been around it my whole life because of my dad, Bruce, who did the first solo route in 1987. I have seen how much it has changed all of the men through their emotions when arriving on the Capitol Lawn in D.C. I even saw my brother mature an immense amount by not only serving others, but serving himself by completing a life-changing event as he completed the JOH Transamerica route in 2017.
I want to now create my own path by doing the North route and experience the same life-changing event, but from a different perspective. I have seen the joy on the faces of people with different abilities at friendship visits and I have met so many remarkable people through being an outsider looking in at JOH. I cannot wait to experience the full thing for myself and meet many more remarkable people.
What are you most excited for this summer?
I am most excited about meeting and learning from people with different abilities at friendship visits. Me taking the time to talk to them may change their day, but their positivity will also change mine. I am also excited for the mental and physical challenge that I will have to push through that will make me a stronger man at the end of the trip.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
I was a preferred walk-on for the TCU Men’s Basketball Team
I have been to Rome (multiple times), Venice, Monaco, Florence, Johannesburg, and many other major foreign cities, but I have never been to New York City, Chicago, or San Francisco, and I have only been to L.A. once