University Honors Welcome Retreat Coordinator
"Be bold enough to use your voice, brave enough to listen to your heart, and strong enough to live the life you've always imagined."
I have to admit this... I am NOT a camper. Never have been, and probably never will be. The bugs, the lack of a decent shower, and missing the comfort of my own bed all weigh heavily on my mind with the thought of camping. After my first experience camping my freshman year of college, I recognize that "glamping" would be more of my style.
However, there is only one reason that I've found myself camping each August for the past four years. Starting as a retreat participant, I fell in love with the idea of getting to introduce the University Honors Program to future students just like I had experienced it. I knew the best way to accomplish this goal was to become a retreat leader as a second and third year. This year, I applied to be a retreat coordinator to further my involvement within the program. It has been an honor to be involved with the start of so many Honors students' college careers - helping them to navigate the program, find their passions, and have fun!
Going into the retreat coordinator position, I created personal goals that focused on the development of students and retreat leaders. I could accomplish this because I could take on a different perspective of retreat. Rather than being completely hands on, I could play more of a consultative or management role as a coordinator. In order to succeed in this aspect, I knew that I needed to be trans-formative in my actions throughout retreat. I recognized the need to be energetic at certain times, empathetic at others, and overall excepting of everyone in attendance. Another goal of mine heading into the planning of the retreat was to stay as organized as possible. I knew that I wanted to be efficient and proactive with the roles and projects I focused on. While I didn't know it initially, my role would change from time to time throughout the planning which lead to my overall growth.
Initially, my involvement as a retreat coordinator included analyzing and picking an appropriate team of retreat leaders with the retreat staff. I effectively worked with the three other coordinators to put together a team with a variety of complimentary skills. It was important to have a fun and energetic team that is willing to put in the extra effort to share and connect with incoming students.
One of my personal projects included critically mapping out what activities at Camp Kern will look like. I worked with a retreat leader and our retreat staff to develop timing for the Adventure Challenge and campfire. We adjusted the schedule to improve the overall retreat experience and it reflected well at the retreat. We even focused on adding in fun skits during the campfire!
Another large piece of my work was focused on building camaraderie between the retreat leaders and coordinators. This started in the early summer as I asked an "About You" question each week to our GroupMe. This allowed for a low time commitment activity prior to retreat for students to get to know one another! The questions were silly but effective in getting people to share a bit about themselves and prepare for training and retreat. I also focused a lot of my time on planning and executing the retreat leader training. It was important to bring positive energy and excitement to training to get the retreat leaders prepared for retreat! I enjoyed creating the retreat training agenda and PowerPoint presentation and I was thrilled to have free reign to take control.
I've included my presentation materials below that I used for the retreat leader training session. These materials allowed me to keep focused and on track to deliver an effective and fun retreat leader overview.
However, there is only one reason that I've found myself camping each August for the past four years. Starting as a retreat participant, I fell in love with the idea of getting to introduce the University Honors Program to future students just like I had experienced it. I knew the best way to accomplish this goal was to become a retreat leader as a second and third year. This year, I applied to be a retreat coordinator to further my involvement within the program. It has been an honor to be involved with the start of so many Honors students' college careers - helping them to navigate the program, find their passions, and have fun!
Going into the retreat coordinator position, I created personal goals that focused on the development of students and retreat leaders. I could accomplish this because I could take on a different perspective of retreat. Rather than being completely hands on, I could play more of a consultative or management role as a coordinator. In order to succeed in this aspect, I knew that I needed to be trans-formative in my actions throughout retreat. I recognized the need to be energetic at certain times, empathetic at others, and overall excepting of everyone in attendance. Another goal of mine heading into the planning of the retreat was to stay as organized as possible. I knew that I wanted to be efficient and proactive with the roles and projects I focused on. While I didn't know it initially, my role would change from time to time throughout the planning which lead to my overall growth.
Initially, my involvement as a retreat coordinator included analyzing and picking an appropriate team of retreat leaders with the retreat staff. I effectively worked with the three other coordinators to put together a team with a variety of complimentary skills. It was important to have a fun and energetic team that is willing to put in the extra effort to share and connect with incoming students.
One of my personal projects included critically mapping out what activities at Camp Kern will look like. I worked with a retreat leader and our retreat staff to develop timing for the Adventure Challenge and campfire. We adjusted the schedule to improve the overall retreat experience and it reflected well at the retreat. We even focused on adding in fun skits during the campfire!
Another large piece of my work was focused on building camaraderie between the retreat leaders and coordinators. This started in the early summer as I asked an "About You" question each week to our GroupMe. This allowed for a low time commitment activity prior to retreat for students to get to know one another! The questions were silly but effective in getting people to share a bit about themselves and prepare for training and retreat. I also focused a lot of my time on planning and executing the retreat leader training. It was important to bring positive energy and excitement to training to get the retreat leaders prepared for retreat! I enjoyed creating the retreat training agenda and PowerPoint presentation and I was thrilled to have free reign to take control.
I've included my presentation materials below that I used for the retreat leader training session. These materials allowed me to keep focused and on track to deliver an effective and fun retreat leader overview.
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While at retreat, my initial goal of being flexible to what the retreat participants and leaders needed was accomplished. I recognized that some pieces of retreat are meant to be fun and energetic, while others can be more thought-provoking and calm. A great learning experience for me was that I cannot force or make people have fun, no matter how much I wish! It was a great opportunity for me to work with a variety of personalities and appreciate the differences between us. I think my biggest learning experience was fine tuning the appropriate times to turn on and off energy. It helped me to better read people and situations.
If I could go back to change anything about the retreat, I would only have a few suggestions. I wish I could bring more excitement and energy to the retreat leader and coordinator introductions. It will always be an awkward time to start because everyone is a little nervous and on edge, but I believe that doing something silly like a UC cheer can start to raise energy levels and decrease nerves.
Another suggestion would be to rearrange the schedule of events. The Adventure Challenge is always a fun activity to get everyone up and moving. However, the panels, dinner, and the Provost speech were all clumped together right after. If I could change the schedule again, I would move the panels prior to Adventure Challenge to avoid students getting bored or tired.
Overall, the retreat coordinator leadership position was an incredible opportunity. I enjoyed every aspect and it was an experience unlike any other that I've had at Camp Kern. I wish that I could go back again next year because it has played such a major role in my college experience. The best feeling is being able to holistically welcome freshmen into the University of Cincinnati and the University Honors Program.
If I could go back to change anything about the retreat, I would only have a few suggestions. I wish I could bring more excitement and energy to the retreat leader and coordinator introductions. It will always be an awkward time to start because everyone is a little nervous and on edge, but I believe that doing something silly like a UC cheer can start to raise energy levels and decrease nerves.
Another suggestion would be to rearrange the schedule of events. The Adventure Challenge is always a fun activity to get everyone up and moving. However, the panels, dinner, and the Provost speech were all clumped together right after. If I could change the schedule again, I would move the panels prior to Adventure Challenge to avoid students getting bored or tired.
Overall, the retreat coordinator leadership position was an incredible opportunity. I enjoyed every aspect and it was an experience unlike any other that I've had at Camp Kern. I wish that I could go back again next year because it has played such a major role in my college experience. The best feeling is being able to holistically welcome freshmen into the University of Cincinnati and the University Honors Program.
Please enjoy my pictures from the University Honors Retreat from August 14-15, 2017!