By Susan Peterson

Gazette Staff

Juggling a full course load can be a job in itself, but imagine 12 more hours a day for a commitment of another kind, and you'll have an idea of what it's like to be a student volunteer from Eliot House preparing for "An Evening with Champions." About 450 students live in Eliot House and more than two-thirds are involved with the benefit in various capacities.

Julie Park '97 and Dan Kolodner '97, seem to be holding up well. As co-chairs for this year's event, they have been working together since January and spent the summer in Cambridge planning for the show.

"The enthusiasm is high and there's an energy building in the entire House for this show," Park said. "There are 13 committees in addition to the executive board, and people have been very good about jumping right in when the term began -- it's a bit more rushed this year because the show is two weeks earlier than usual."

This year, the student-run show will be presented at Harvard's Bright Hockey Center next week. The show will also be aired for a nationwide audience on PBS next spring.

A Long History

What began as a Harvard student's effort to help children with cancer 27 years ago has evolved into an annual fundraising event attracting thousands of spectators to an extraordinary show.

An Evening with Champions ice-skating exhibition was the vision of John Misha Petkevich '73. A competitive skater, Petkevich was deeply moved by meeting young cancer victims at Children's Hospital when he went there for a routine checkup on his knee. A few weeks later, fellow students at Eliot House joined him in organizing an exhibition of nationally ranked figure skaters.

Petkevich went on to become the U.S. men's figure skating champion, and An Evening with Champions went on to be an Eliot House tradition. Since 1970, the benefit has raised more than $1.7 million for the Jimmy Fund, a charity that raises funds for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Past performers have included national, world, and Olympic champions such as Dorothy Hamill, Brian Boitano, Scott Hamilton, Nancy Kerrigan, and pairs skaters Calla Urbanski and Rocky Marval.

This Year's Show

Former Eliot House resident Paul Wylie '91, the 1992 Men's Olympic figure skating silver medalist, will host the show this year. Wylie has been involved with An Evening with Champions for 14 years.

Other performers this year who are donating their time include:

* Ilia Kulik, 1996 world silver medalist

* Dan Hollander, 1996 U.S. bronze medalist

* Michael Chack, 1993 Olympic Festival Champion

* Caryn Kadavy, 1987-88 U.S. bronze medalist

* Karen Kwan, 1996 U.S. Championships 5th-place winner

* Several pairs, including Ludmila and Oleg Protopopov, 1964 and 1968 Olympic gold medalists, who have been with the show since its beginning.

A Team Effort

Kolodner said An Evening With Champions brings people together from the University, the community, and the skating world.

"There are some supporters who have been coming since 1970," he said. "It really gives you a sense of the history of the show."

For Kolodner, his involvement with the benefit is a family affair. His brother, Jon '94, now at the Law School, was co-chair when Dan was a freshman. Dan was assistant treasurer his sophomore year, treasurer last year, and is now co-chair with Park.

"This really is a House endeavor," Kolodner said. "The Masters of Eliot House -- Steve Mitchell and Kristine Forsgard -- and the tutors, have been involved and given a lot of their time."

Nishat Mehta's part of the show is a demanding one. As co-chair for the rink management committee, Mehta '97 makes sure the ice is up to par, provides the skaters with access to the building, organizes the selling of merchandise, and oversees 30 to 40 ushers and the clean-up crews. But all of the work doesn't dampen his enthusiasm.

"There is an excitement that grows on you and that is what prompted me to join in," Mehta said. "We'd like to show the new Eliot House students who may be worried about their course loads and the time commitment, how much fun this is and that it is a project worth doing."

During the week of the show, some Eliot House students will also be visiting with children affiliated with the Jimmy Fund and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Children's Hospital. Mehta plans to go along.

"We'll be visiting the children who are there, because they can't be here," he said.

An Evening with Champions will be presented on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 18-19, at 8 p.m., with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults; $10 for children, senior citizens, and undergraduate students, and may be ordered by calling the Champions office at 493-8172.