UHP Welcome Retreat 2017: Retreat Coordinator
Why I wanted to be a Coordinator
I wanted to be a Retreat Coordinator because of my experience as a Retreat Leader last summer and my on-going recruitment efforts as a ROAR guide. As a tour guide on campus, I get to interact with potential UC students and their families every week. I love sharing my experience so far and everything that we have to offer at UC. The Honors Retreat became a natural extension of this work, helping facilitate the transition from prospective student to fellow Bearcat. The Honors Retreat was not something that I participated in my freshman year; which in no way stopped me from becoming involved later on. I wanted to help new students understand that the University Honors Program isn’t scary or academically rigorous, but life changing. I really enjoy investing in younger students; making people comfortable and helping create new connections. Everyone is nervous for college and I take part in what I do because I want to be supportive, someone that gives advice and can candidly answer questions. After coming back from the Retreat last summer as a Leader, I saw an opportunity for myself to step up into a broader role as a Retreat Coordinator, helping organize and facilitate the entire event. Little did I know that so much went on behind the scenes.
General role
My role for the retreat pretty naturally turned into a creative one. I had helped out with the t-shirt for last year’s retreat and I was quickly tasked with this year’s as well as reinventing our nametags. These were both fun challenges for me and something that it was nice to have an extended timeline for. I was on co-op in Chicago when this whole process began, so I felt a little separated from my fellow Coordinators as well as our advisors Mandy and John. I was able to call into some of the meetings, struggling to pick out voices in the room. I became pretty dependent on follow-up emails. It was a fun process to be a part of, getting to see everything that would happen behind the scenes of what seemed like such a seamless event. What started as a fairly slow process, built and built up to the retreat itself. The few days before the retreat, when we held the Retreat Leader training and Pre-Retreat Social were a blur of excitement and new faces.
Training
Last year during the retreat, I didn’t find myself connecting with as many of the other Retreat Leaders as I had hoped. I think my focus was on the incoming students, really investing my time in making an impact on their experience. But I think I missed out on the other people that could have made an impact on mine. So this summer, as a Coordinator, I was in a new position and a new mindset. I made an effort to try to get to know all of the Leaders, more than just their name or being able to recognize their face. Instead of worrying about people being too relaxed about the process, I tried to understand that some of the most easygoing people could also be the most approachable and there are distinct reasons that we were all chosen as Leaders. We are all our own people. It was interesting as a Coordinator having to balance the role of being a leader and being somewhat of an authority figure. Being such a short process, and a process that many people had been a part of before, I felt like I experienced it alongside the other Leaders and Coordinators instead of having to lead them through it. I think in the coming years, it would be really beneficial for earlier interactions between the Leaders and Coordinators. Even quick meetings would allow for people to get to know each other better and more conversations around leading small groups and learning about the retreat pretty informally for people who haven’t been a part of it before. Allowing us to hang out before would allow us to shift our focus to the incoming students when the retreat came around.
Retreat Itself
Much to my surprise, the retreat became the easy part. There was so much planning and build up to the retreat itself that by the time we got to camp, everything felt like it had fallen into place. Check in was a whole other story. A flurry of activity as everyone arrived at 8am. Being the honors program, of course we had students there at 7:30. We also had one student show up as the buses were pulling out of CCM circle. I had to run after a bus because of that sucker. Once everyone was accounted for, things were a breeze as we headed to Camp Kern. Coming back as a Coordinator after being a Leader was a strange transition. I found myself having to balance when I would sit back and when I would get involved. We weren’t required to take part in all of the events, but it felt strange to do nothing. We didn’t work as closely with the students, instead working behind the scenes to move people and chairs around. The whole system pretty much worked itself out. That was super rewarding, knowing that everything we had worked so hard to prepare was working the way we wanted it to. Even some unseen surprises became highlights. Camp food, which is notoriously sub-par, was amended with a late-night pizza order. We devoured 30 pizzas! It was amazing. I must say, my favorite event by far was the senior speakers. Being a senior myself, it was my turn to participate and I got to go first. Going first wasn’t expected, but it all worked out. It was almost surreal standing on that stage thinking back on the last five years and trying to capture all those feelings and conveying how immeasurable of an amount it meant to be in two short minutes. I hardly remember what I said, I didn’t plan anything specific, but what I said I meant. Be unabashedly, unapologetically yourself and no one else. Figure out what matters to you and do it. There’s no time waste chasing what others may lead you to believe is important or right or “you”. College goes by too fast, enjoy it.
Leadership
I am able to, and genuinely enjoy, speaking in front of groups of people. I find it easy to put my thoughts into words and make conversation with others. I love to meet new people and make a connection with someone new. Most of this can be summed up by saying I like to talk and this is where I find I have room to grow, utilizing my strengths to facilitate conversation and engage others, ensuring that I don’t talk over others. The retreat was a great opportunity to work as a collective leadership team. Filling in gaps for one another where we each find we need support. We can’t all have Kendall’s energy, Zack’s patience or Vineela’s compassion. I know I certainly don’t. I think our differences were able to bring us together and allowed us to work well as a team. The retreat wouldn’t have been the same without each of us there. So a big thank you to my counterparts, Vineela, Zack and Kendall, for an amazing retreat. I also owe it to our amazing advisors who led this whole process, Mandy and John you are both one of a kind and so much fun to work with.
What I learned
I have several significant takeaways from the retreat. I think it was an interesting contrast to last summer, and I definitely had a different experience which is in no way a bad thing. I learned that not everything goes according to plan. And that’s okay. Capture the flag didn’t happen because it was too dark after the bonfire. That’s okay. I was disappointed, a couple students were also disappointed, but overall people were otherwise engaged. They moved on to other activities. I can’t get too caught up in what was supposed to happen and just let things happen. Spontaneity can be the most welcome surprise. Everyone loves pizza. Everyone especially loves pizza when the camp runs out of dinner and its ten o’clock and you’re a starving college kid and there’s free food. I can easily say that it was a highlight of the retreat. Thanks Debbie. I learned how to be a mentor, a leader and a friend. It may sound obvious or easy, but this retreat I learned how to be friends with my fellow retreat leaders. I spent more time trying to get to know them, and know all of them. And I learned that staying up can be worth it. Waiting hours to begin a game of mofia can be worth it. Playing too late can be worth it. Because investing in people and experiences is the most important thing you can do. It made such an impact on my time at the retreat.
Moving Forward
First and formost I wish that I could be part of the retreat again. But I can’t, unless I decide in the next 6 months to go to grad school at UC, I will officially be an alum. Crazy thought. I’m not ready yet. Not at all.
I think there are a few minor but meaningful changes that could be made to the retreat for future years:
I wanted to be a Retreat Coordinator because of my experience as a Retreat Leader last summer and my on-going recruitment efforts as a ROAR guide. As a tour guide on campus, I get to interact with potential UC students and their families every week. I love sharing my experience so far and everything that we have to offer at UC. The Honors Retreat became a natural extension of this work, helping facilitate the transition from prospective student to fellow Bearcat. The Honors Retreat was not something that I participated in my freshman year; which in no way stopped me from becoming involved later on. I wanted to help new students understand that the University Honors Program isn’t scary or academically rigorous, but life changing. I really enjoy investing in younger students; making people comfortable and helping create new connections. Everyone is nervous for college and I take part in what I do because I want to be supportive, someone that gives advice and can candidly answer questions. After coming back from the Retreat last summer as a Leader, I saw an opportunity for myself to step up into a broader role as a Retreat Coordinator, helping organize and facilitate the entire event. Little did I know that so much went on behind the scenes.
General role
My role for the retreat pretty naturally turned into a creative one. I had helped out with the t-shirt for last year’s retreat and I was quickly tasked with this year’s as well as reinventing our nametags. These were both fun challenges for me and something that it was nice to have an extended timeline for. I was on co-op in Chicago when this whole process began, so I felt a little separated from my fellow Coordinators as well as our advisors Mandy and John. I was able to call into some of the meetings, struggling to pick out voices in the room. I became pretty dependent on follow-up emails. It was a fun process to be a part of, getting to see everything that would happen behind the scenes of what seemed like such a seamless event. What started as a fairly slow process, built and built up to the retreat itself. The few days before the retreat, when we held the Retreat Leader training and Pre-Retreat Social were a blur of excitement and new faces.
Training
Last year during the retreat, I didn’t find myself connecting with as many of the other Retreat Leaders as I had hoped. I think my focus was on the incoming students, really investing my time in making an impact on their experience. But I think I missed out on the other people that could have made an impact on mine. So this summer, as a Coordinator, I was in a new position and a new mindset. I made an effort to try to get to know all of the Leaders, more than just their name or being able to recognize their face. Instead of worrying about people being too relaxed about the process, I tried to understand that some of the most easygoing people could also be the most approachable and there are distinct reasons that we were all chosen as Leaders. We are all our own people. It was interesting as a Coordinator having to balance the role of being a leader and being somewhat of an authority figure. Being such a short process, and a process that many people had been a part of before, I felt like I experienced it alongside the other Leaders and Coordinators instead of having to lead them through it. I think in the coming years, it would be really beneficial for earlier interactions between the Leaders and Coordinators. Even quick meetings would allow for people to get to know each other better and more conversations around leading small groups and learning about the retreat pretty informally for people who haven’t been a part of it before. Allowing us to hang out before would allow us to shift our focus to the incoming students when the retreat came around.
Retreat Itself
Much to my surprise, the retreat became the easy part. There was so much planning and build up to the retreat itself that by the time we got to camp, everything felt like it had fallen into place. Check in was a whole other story. A flurry of activity as everyone arrived at 8am. Being the honors program, of course we had students there at 7:30. We also had one student show up as the buses were pulling out of CCM circle. I had to run after a bus because of that sucker. Once everyone was accounted for, things were a breeze as we headed to Camp Kern. Coming back as a Coordinator after being a Leader was a strange transition. I found myself having to balance when I would sit back and when I would get involved. We weren’t required to take part in all of the events, but it felt strange to do nothing. We didn’t work as closely with the students, instead working behind the scenes to move people and chairs around. The whole system pretty much worked itself out. That was super rewarding, knowing that everything we had worked so hard to prepare was working the way we wanted it to. Even some unseen surprises became highlights. Camp food, which is notoriously sub-par, was amended with a late-night pizza order. We devoured 30 pizzas! It was amazing. I must say, my favorite event by far was the senior speakers. Being a senior myself, it was my turn to participate and I got to go first. Going first wasn’t expected, but it all worked out. It was almost surreal standing on that stage thinking back on the last five years and trying to capture all those feelings and conveying how immeasurable of an amount it meant to be in two short minutes. I hardly remember what I said, I didn’t plan anything specific, but what I said I meant. Be unabashedly, unapologetically yourself and no one else. Figure out what matters to you and do it. There’s no time waste chasing what others may lead you to believe is important or right or “you”. College goes by too fast, enjoy it.
Leadership
I am able to, and genuinely enjoy, speaking in front of groups of people. I find it easy to put my thoughts into words and make conversation with others. I love to meet new people and make a connection with someone new. Most of this can be summed up by saying I like to talk and this is where I find I have room to grow, utilizing my strengths to facilitate conversation and engage others, ensuring that I don’t talk over others. The retreat was a great opportunity to work as a collective leadership team. Filling in gaps for one another where we each find we need support. We can’t all have Kendall’s energy, Zack’s patience or Vineela’s compassion. I know I certainly don’t. I think our differences were able to bring us together and allowed us to work well as a team. The retreat wouldn’t have been the same without each of us there. So a big thank you to my counterparts, Vineela, Zack and Kendall, for an amazing retreat. I also owe it to our amazing advisors who led this whole process, Mandy and John you are both one of a kind and so much fun to work with.
What I learned
I have several significant takeaways from the retreat. I think it was an interesting contrast to last summer, and I definitely had a different experience which is in no way a bad thing. I learned that not everything goes according to plan. And that’s okay. Capture the flag didn’t happen because it was too dark after the bonfire. That’s okay. I was disappointed, a couple students were also disappointed, but overall people were otherwise engaged. They moved on to other activities. I can’t get too caught up in what was supposed to happen and just let things happen. Spontaneity can be the most welcome surprise. Everyone loves pizza. Everyone especially loves pizza when the camp runs out of dinner and its ten o’clock and you’re a starving college kid and there’s free food. I can easily say that it was a highlight of the retreat. Thanks Debbie. I learned how to be a mentor, a leader and a friend. It may sound obvious or easy, but this retreat I learned how to be friends with my fellow retreat leaders. I spent more time trying to get to know them, and know all of them. And I learned that staying up can be worth it. Waiting hours to begin a game of mofia can be worth it. Playing too late can be worth it. Because investing in people and experiences is the most important thing you can do. It made such an impact on my time at the retreat.
Moving Forward
First and formost I wish that I could be part of the retreat again. But I can’t, unless I decide in the next 6 months to go to grad school at UC, I will officially be an alum. Crazy thought. I’m not ready yet. Not at all.
I think there are a few minor but meaningful changes that could be made to the retreat for future years:
- We need to account for longer breaks in the schedule, we frequently run over from other activities which eats up that time
- The sequencing of events needs consideration, having back to back events where students are sitting leads to a lack of focus
- It would be great to be able to capture information during the panels to pass on to students after the fact. This will help if students wanted to go to more than two panels as well as if they wanted to remember something but weren’t able to write it down.
- Coordinators can take part in more activities, such as panels
- The skits were a great idea but needed more time for rehearsal
- Two speakers felt like a misuse of time, I think the students valued time in their small groups and in other free-time activities
- The pizza run should be an annual occurrence