Tough Jobs for Kolarczyk ’03

Phil Kolarczyk ’03 added crab fishing in the Bering Sea, driving big rigs on icy Alaskan roads, and gold mining to his resume as a contestant in the NBC TV series America’s Toughest Jobs.

It was tough just getting on the show (a thousand people signed up for 13 spots), but crab fishing was tougher. “The most grueling thing I’ve ever done,” he says. “Throwing the pots out and retrieving them was the fun part on the show. Everything behind the scenes, like prepping the pots and moving them around the deck, is constant work and exhausting. Plus, you’re doing it on three hours’ rest.”

The next test was trucking, and Kolarczyk aced it. He was named top driver and even got a job offer. In week three, success in panning and dredging for gold proved elusive for the former Leopard offensive lineman, and he was eliminated from the show before contestants tackled logging, oil drilling, bullfighting, and other challenges in later episodes, all leading to a $298,000 prize.

Kolarczyk is a marketing consultant in Orlando. “Too many people go through their lives sitting behind a desk and never take a risk,” he says.