On the morning of August 25th, I, along with 300 or so of my peers, packed all of my things, not only for college, but for the camping trip of a lifetime. SOAR, or the Stockton Outdoor Adventure Retreat, is an amazing program for incoming freshman, where they go away to Camp Ockanickon for three days prior to the traditional freshman “move-in day” and the beginning of Welcome Week activities. While on this camping trip, Stockton’s newest ospreys gained leadership skills, discussed the pros of a diverse community, and had a ton of fun doing so. Everyone in attendance had expected this type of instruction it was basically the tagline for SOAR. But the best parts of SOAR were the things we didn’t expect.
I didn’t expect to meet my best friend at SOAR. Within minutes of saying goodbye to my parents and siblings, the girl standing next to me, who I would soon call my best friend, and I bonded instantly. All around us, I could see, and feel, the friendships, and even relationships, forming between people who had just met. We were all being thrown into the wild with a bunch of strangers, so it was only natural for us to find people with whom we had something in common with, and stick with them.
My favorite part of SOAR, and, upon talking to some of my fellow “tribelets”, their favorite part as well, was getting to know our TALONS. The Activity Leaders Of New Students practically ran SOAR with the help of Jennifer Radwanski and the staff from Camp Ockanickon, but they did so much more than that. They gave very sound advice about college, from unspoken N Wing etiquette to how to save the most money on textbooks and everything in between. With the help of our TALONS, Stockton became a less intimidating place and moving away to college seemed like an easy tasked compared to the “Leap of Faith” that many, including myself, did while at camp.
SOAR was so much more than a leadership retreat or a chance to meet new people and make new friends. SOAR was a chance for many freshman to ease into the college experience. It helped to grease the gears of new friendships, and made the task of talking to new people less daunting. I hope to return to SOAR one day as a TALON so that I can help freshmen transition into life here at Stockton, because what my TALONS did for me is something I cannot thank them enough for. So, I say again, thank you TALONS, and thank you Jen Radwanski, for giving me the experience of a lifetime and allowing me to truly soar.