Since 1997, three letters and an exclamation point have jump-started friendships among incoming freshmen whose first real introductions have occurred over bus rides and camp fires and along natural courses far removed from the classroom.
W.O.A.!, the quickest way to reference summer's annual Wilderness Outdoor Adventure, is an optional ice-breaker brought to new students by current ones, and a team-building tradition that started a decade ago. In this custom, small groups of students on the cusp of collegiate life assemble together in various Southwest locales to camp, back-pack, surf, and go kayaking before the first days of fall semester. And more important, to make fast friends.
"We want incoming students to have great first memories of CMC, and there really is no better way of starting college life than on one of these outings," says history major Allison Pratt '08, who, with Emily Schlothan '09, is leading preparations for each of the W.O.A. activities set for August.
Students will have the option of camping or backpacking for several days in Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, Big Sur, Mammoth Lakes, or the High Sierras, canoeing on the Colorado River, or surfing at San Onofre.
Although each locale is distinctly rugged and inspiring, Pratt and Schlothan say they share a valued trait: seclusion. "It's important on these trips to choose places that are fairly isolated, so that the students will be less distracted and have more opportunities to bond with one another," Schlothan says.
Lindsay Gaesser '08 describes her W.O.A. trip to Santa Cruz Island as one of the "most memorable times in my college career."
Wilderness Orientation Adventures are open to all new students, including incoming freshman and transfer students. While no experience is necessary to participate in any of the trips, students signing up for the canoeing and surfing trips must be capable swimmers.
W.O.A. participants will meet on campus Saturday, Aug. 25 and depart for their trips the following morning, Aug. 26. Students will then return to campus the afternoon of Wednesday, Aug. 29.
More information about W.O.A., including a full itinerary, is available online: http://dos.claremontmckenna.edu/sao/woa/woa2007/.
Erika Weingart '08