In the summer of 2012, Dan Rodriguez ’00 jumped off a bridge in Twin Falls, Idaho…and deployed his parachute. Rodriguez is not your typical BASE jumper—he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in April 2012. He decided against invasive surgery and was given six months to live. A couple months later, he took up BASE jumping, a sport that due to its extreme risks is banned in most American cities and national parks. Rodriguez has completed 119 BASE jumps and 560 sky dives. He has jumped off cliffs and dived from planes in Norway, Switzerland, Italy, and Greece. He has worn a wing suit for nearly 400 of his jumps and dives. While sky divers free fall for a minute and then descend for two minutes under a parachute, wearing a wing suit can extend a fall’s time by several minutes before the parachute inflates. And the suit propels jumpers forward by upwards of three feet for every foot of drop, so jumpers feel like they are flying. Upon returning from his European adventure tour in 2013, Rodriguez completed three months of rigorous medical treatment, which forced him to stay on the ground. So instead, he learned how to play the piano. Most recently Rodriguez has taken another leap. He’s teamed up with two friends that have founded the startup Admit.me, a company that helps aspiring students attend college. They were accepted by the New York City startup incubator DreamIt Ventures and will spend the next several months growing the business. Rodriguez’s cancer is now in remission. #basejump #basejumping #mitalum #survivor