On the afternoon of Sunday November 15^th, 2015, the Stockton girl’s volleyball team competed in the regional finals. With that weekend being filled with many games hosted in Big Blue, our girl’s team won their semi final game and for the first time in the history of Stockton, they made it to the regional finals. It was a long weekend for the girls and they played their hearts out and worked extremely hard to make it to where they were.

The final game was played against Randolf-Macon from 2-4pm. Walking into big blue, Stockton gear was dispersed throughout the gymnasium. Many students came out to show our team support and with that came a lot of school spirit and cheering from the crowd. Parents and family members also showed up to support the girls. Throughout each game, you could hear cheers of “Let’s go Stockton, let’s go!” and yells to the girls to keep it up and get back into the game. Ultimately, the girls lost the game coming really close in all 3 matches.

The intensity of the game could be seen in the faces of the girls. Although they lost, they put up a good fight and had support all around. It was an accomplishment in itself to have made it as far as they did. This being the first year ever that they made it to the finals, that in itself was a win for Stockton. The season may be over but the girls will continue to fight and with hopes high, we hope to make it to the finals again next season. The school spirit that was shown at that final game should be the same spirit that should be given to all our teams and as it is basketball season, we must give our basketball team the same support.

The Stockton Outdoor Adventure Retreat, also known as SOAR is a 3 day, 2-night camping trip that happens a few days prior to regular move-in day. This trip is meant for 500 incoming freshmen to get to know each other better as well as know their T.A.L.O.N.S better as well. The T.A.L.O.N.S, also known as The Activity Leaders Of New Students, are also Stockton students who are put in charge of a group of freshmen. The T.A.L.O.N.S are responsible for getting their groups to connect on a personal level as well as bring them from activity to activity. During move-in day, families and students are greeted with many welcoming and happy faces of Stockton students. After everyone has moved in and all the goodbyes have been said, new students get to meet those on their tribe, their T.A.L.O.N.S, receive bandanas for their color tribe and their bags. The first day/night at S.O.A.R is spent getting to know tribe members as well as getting situated in the cabins. Dinner is then served with some of the campers serving as cruisers, bringing food to the table as well as cleaning it up. After dinner, everyone heads out to the field where different games are set up and the faculty band is playing. It’s at this time that everyone gets to socialize and mingle with each other. The next two days are blurred together as they both are filled with many different activities. They’re days full of ice breakers and mingling with each other. Campers get accustomed to the “hey SOAR!” call and can finally respond in unison, “hey what!” Names and faces are put together and everyone familiar with each other. The last day is the day campers are supposed to “chase their lions” on multiple challenge courses. With high ropes and rock climbing, campers get to face their fears. SOAR is a retreat that really connects you with your fellow classmates and when school starts, you’ll be more than grateful to have went on this camping trip.

On the weekend of October 9^th-11^th, Stockton University had its annual University Weekend, formally known as Family Weekend. These 3 days were packed and filled with many fun activities and events for both students and families. Friday was the beginning of this great weekend with Stockton Spirit Day. On this day, students were encouraged to wear Stockton gear and in return receive treats such as cookies. Students with gear from other schools were also encouraged to trade them in for Stockton T-Shirts.  On Friday there was also other events such as stroll, strum and yum, twist it like a pretzel: a family yoga workshop, the float decorating party, and a few other events. However, the most memorable event of that day was undoubtedly the comedy show hosted by SET. This comedy show was with MTV Girl Code’s Carly Aquilino. This event was in Big Blue and was packed with people. Carly grabbed everyone’s attention with her choice of jokes and made the whole building laugh.

Although some family and friends came on Friday, Saturday was the day that most family and friends came. Waking up Saturday morning and looking around was very similar to move-in day with all the parents, siblings and families around campus. Saturday was also a day full of events. There was an alumnae breakfast hosted by Zeta Tau Alpha, a breakfast for parents hosted by the Parents & Family association, the University Weekend Parade, the carnival, the men’s lacrosse alumni game, the honors 10-year celebration and a few other events as well. The event that most freshmen were looking forward to, however, was the 20^th annual Osprey Ball hosted Saturday night. This semi formal event was food filled, dance filled and many students had a great night with their friends.

Sunday was a more relaxing day as families got ready to go. There were few events such as the lake Fred nature tour, a professional Achievement Award Ceremony, a softball alumnae game, and to end the night there was a campus center movie night with Max being the movie for the night. Those that had family come down took this day to spend quality time with them and show them around before they headed off. This was a very relaxing day with the osprey ball the night before so other students took this day to sleep off the busy weekend. All in all, University Weekend was a weekend well spent. It was great to show off Stockton Spirit and participate in different events with my fellow Ospreys and their families. I’m thrilled to see what next year’s University Weekend holds.