"There was a question which asked what a good activity would be to bring people in a dorm together and I answered a camping trip would be a great activity," said Cohan. "After I thought about it more I decided that it would be perfect for freshmen." Cohan, Laura Shapira '90, Steve Bergmen '90 and Hilary Goidel '90 all came together to organize and run the program.
Upperclass students led 56 first-year students on backpacking, canoeing and bicycling trips in groups of six to 10.
It turned out to be a novel experience for both the first-year and upperclass students. First-year students enjoyed the intimacy of a small group in the wilderness and the opportunity to get to know some of their classmates before the hustle and bustle of orientation.
"I was looking for a support group," said Vanessa Chien '92, "and when we started here I had people I already knew." Others, like Sam Kamin '92, benefited from the interaction with upperclassmen leaders and got better acquainted with what life at the College was all about.
The upperclass students also enjoyed the experience, saying that it helped first-year students to meet people and that it also helped to improve confidence levels before the stress of orientation week. Upperclass student Scott Paluska '90, who led a 106-mile biking trip, also felt that it was a unique way for upperclass students to meet first-year students.
Dean of New Students William Heath praised the outing club for having initiated and organized the trips virtually on its own and expressed his hope that such trips would become an established feature of the orientation programs in the following years.