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The program works to instill this mindset in its athletes, too. "When disability enters your life, one of the biggest hurdles to overcome is your own stereotypes," says Gravink, "this feeling that you can't do things anymore." This was exactly what Chace was facing. After two years of rehab, he was bored, restless and fighting depression. He craved a new outlet. When his older sister, Meredith '04, a Northeast Passage volunteer, took him to his first sled-hockey event and introduced him to coach Tom Carr '97, the program's director of athletics, Chace found his answer. "Everyone on that team had such a positive attitude," he says. "Suddenly I realized how lucky I was. I was so excited to be back on the ice," he says. "I loved being in the locker room again, having teammates." He loved having a coach, too, someone to challenge him. "Tom helped me set goals," says Chace, who started training again. And he enrolled at UNH. The timing was perfect. Northeast Passage had recently developed a new focus on elite athletes.

THREE'S THE CHARM: Laurie Stephens '07, above and below, won two gold medals and one silver at the 2006 Winter Paralympics. She hopes to defend those medals at the 2010 games in Vancouver.

"At some point," says Carr, "we realized that really serious athletes with disabilities, including some younger kids we'd been mentoring, were all going to other schools." Carr cites the University of Illinois as an example. Nationally known for its wheelchair sports, the school draws athletes from all over the country. "We sat down and said we need to find a way to solve this," says Carr.

In 2002, Carr met with Laurie Stephens '07, who uses a wheelchair—and who was considering Illinois. "She's an incredible athlete. She could excel at any sport," says Carr, who asked her what she'd do if she could choose. She didn't hesitate. Skiing was her passion. Carr promised he'd work with her and figure out a way for her to be a high-level ski athlete at UNH. "Laurie gets credit for being our test case," say Carr. "She was the ground-breaker—and there were definitely bumps along the road." But Stephens, who was born with spina bifida, did, in fact, enroll at UNH and earned a degree in therapeutic recreation. Along the way, she also won three medals at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy, plus a slew of World Cup medals. And her experience helped Northeast Passage create an elite disabled athlete program—the only one of its kind in the country.

Carr started by talking with Marty Scarano, UNH athletic director, explaining that athletes who happen to be disabled need pretty much the same thing able-bodied athletes need: use of high-quality facilities for training, superior coaching and academic support. "We didn't want to establish a separate program," says Carr, who learned that some schools with established programs for disabled athletes wished they had done it differently—wished their programs were not completely separate from the regular varsity athletics program. "Why have this facility that disabled athletes don't have access to?" says Carr, who praises the UNH athletics department for its support.

"We consider these elite, national-caliber athletes part of our 'family,'" says Scarano. "We hope to create a one-of-a-kind partnership with Northeast Passage and to offer the very best training facilities for winter-sport athletes who aspire to compete in the disabled national programs and ultimately the Paralympics." In 2008, that goal became even more tangible when Northeast Passage secured a contract with U.S. Paralympics, a division of the U.S. Olympic Committee, to develop Nordic skiers with physical disabilities or visual impairments for elite-level competition.

Carr was recruiting in earnest now, keeping his eye out for promising skiers, as well as hockey players, who could come to UNH to train—and to get an education at the same time. "I was at a ski race at Waterville Valley," says Ted Broderick '12, one of Carr's most recent recruits. "Tom approached me after one of the races and told me he thought I could take it to the next level." A high school junior at the time, Broderick had always competed against able-bodied skiers. But at the college level, he knew this would be impossible.

A congenital amputee born without his left forearm, Broderick figured he'd have to settle for skiing at the club level. Thanks to Northeast Passage, though, Broderick is moving full steam ahead on his competitive skiing and also working on a business degree. He trains with the UNH ski team, competes in the U.S. Disabled National Championships—and is preparing for the 2014 Paralympics, where he will compete in the stand-up division. "The field house, the strength and conditioning coaches, the full training staff—it's changed entirely how I am as a skier," says Broderick. "I'm really supported as an athlete and a student here. I've found the perfect blend of skiing and business."

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