Chicks On Sticks: How One Club is Changing Lives at UM

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Of the 1,800 individuals receiving diplomas at the University of Montana on Saturday, one will also leave behind a lasting legacy of helping young women gain confidence and skill in the sport of skiing.

I spoke with UM Director of Strategic Communications Dave Kuntz about Abigail Miller.

One UM Grad Will Leave a Legacy of Teaching Women to Ski with 'Chicks on Sticks'

“This time of year is really special for us at the University of Montana, because we get a chance to celebrate students in a very bittersweet way as they get ready to leave our campus and enter into the world,” began Kuntz. “One of those students that we've gotten to know recently is a young woman by the name of Abigail Miller, who's from Washington State.”

Through her schooling, Miller will become a healthcare provider; however she also leaves a lasting legacy for young women who want to learn how to ski.

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Miller Created the 'Chicks on Sticks' Ski Club

“She came over here for school; not just because of the academics and her pursuit of a career in healthcare, but also because of the outdoor opportunities that are provided to university students,” he said. “While Abigail was a student here at the university, she founded a ‘Chicks on Sticks Ski Club’ that was available for female students, so after school and on the weekends, they could get off of the campus and get up to Snowbowl and some of the other area ski hills around and recreate and enjoy everything that Western Montana has to offer.”

Kuntz said even though Miller will graduate on Saturday, the Chicks on Sticks Ski Club will be in good hands.

“She launched the chicks on sticks clubs here just the last couple of years, but like a lot of other university clubs and traditions, what she has started, we expect others to continue to give,” he said. “What we know too is that a very small proportion of our students actually come from the Missoula Valley, and so with each entering freshman class, we have students who are coming to the university not just to pursue their academic achievements, but also to kick start their life as an adult.”

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UM Has Created Many Year Round Recreational Opportunities

Kuntz pointed out the many other ways UM creates opportunities for fun and recreation year round.

“Not just the downhill skiing club that Abigail launched, but each winter, we turn our university golf course into a cross country ski course,” he said. “For about five years now, we've put an ice skating rink on the oval over the course of the winter, where students figure skate and play hockey and learn to skate, and then, of course, in the summertime, with fishing and floating and hiking and backpacking and everything that's available if you have a really important part of the student experience here at the university.”

So, going forward, look for the Chicks on Sticks skiing club to continue at the University of Montana.