I attended a program for incoming freshman and transfer students called S.O.A.R. which stands for Stockton Outdoor Adventure Retreat. Three days before the official move-in day, the students who attended S.O.A.R. arrived on campus. When we arrived at Stockton, we were handed a beaded necklace. The color of the necklace indicated which tribe you were in. I was in navy tribe. When I walked out of the TRLC, I was greeted by an overwhelming amount of clapping and cheering. After I told the group what tribe I was assigned, one of the TALONS from my tribe grabbed me and helped me to put my stuff away in my new room. All of the TALONS I met throughout SOAR were enthusiastic and willing to help, but one of my TALONS Taryn was the most enthusiastic. We did not stay at Stockton for long. After our rooms were all set up and we said good-bye to our families, and we got on buses and drove to a camp that was not too far from Stockton.

Most of SOAR was a blur, but I remember having an amazing time. We played a lot of icebreakers, which made it easy to meet people and make friends. We went kayaking and swimming in the lake. We created and performed skits mocking our TALONS. We did so many fun things I can’t even remember them all.  My personal favorite activity at SOAR was the high ropes. Everyone was a little nervous going into it, but the nervous atmosphere quickly changed into one of encouragement once people stared going on the ropes. In order for someone to go onto one of the high ropes, they had to have five people help them. They were assigned different positions on the ground in order to make it safe for her to be suspended thirty feet in the air by ropes. Having friends on the ground made it much easier to complete the course. It felt really nice to have friends cheering me on.

We did a lot of amazing activities at SOAR. It allowed me to branch off and do things I never thought that I would ever do. The most important thing I got of SOAR were my friends. I met so many new people and I’m still close with a lot of them. When everyone else moved in on August 28^th, I felt really relaxed because I didn’t have to deal with the pressures of trying to move all my stuff in and meet a thousand new people at the same time. I recommend SOAR to all incoming students, because it made my transition to college very easy and even fun.