SCC Business Law Instructor pedals across country to raise awareness

By Donna Myers

Yes, that’s right. Steve McCloskey is pedaling 2,500 miles from Kirkland, Washington to Grand Rapids, Michigan to raise awareness of how one person can make a difference.

The SCC business law instructor is making the trip to support the work of the Association for a More Just Society (AJS), a Honduran nonprofit organization that works for social justice for the poor living in Honduras. The U.S. office is based in Grand Rapids.

McCloskey and his wife, Pollie, who runs the study-abroad program at Shoreline, have supported social justice for years, both in and out of the classroom, devoting much of their free time to service projects such as volunteering with orphans in Honduras, Habitat for Humanity, Tent City and fundraising for organizations such as Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma.

The people in Central America have taught us this. Over and over we have heard ‘Go to your part of the world and change it. Your job is ant work. It isn’t about money; it’s about everybody doing their little part.”

And for all those reasons, the energetic 50-something year-old jumped on his Litespeed titanium bike in mid-June to begin his five-week journey. McCloskey plans to ride about 86 miles a day. He made a similar trip to Washington, D.C. for another cause a few years ago. “I was eating about 7,000 calories a day, but I still lost 30 pounds.”

Pollie and a couple of friends and supporters joined her husband for the first part of the current trip - over Snoqualmie Pass – and then returned by car to Seattle. Steve will pedal on alone to Billings, Montana, where his friend, Pete Schneble, will join the trek. Pollie will then meet them in Des Moines, Iowa from where they will complete the trip as a trio.

AJS provides legal, psychological and investigative assistance in cases involving land rights, labor rights, domestic violence, gang violence and child sexual abuse. McCloskey is riding for the Transforming Lives: Transforming Honduras Campaign.

McCloskey plans to share this experience and others with his students, emphasizing the legal and social justice aspects of the work in Honduras, and how his bike trip, though thousands of miles away, is making a positive difference for the people.

“Business law is global, you know,” he said.

Check out more about McCloskey’s trip at the AJS website and Steve's blog.

Photo of Steve McCloskey courtesy SCC