Orientation on the Lake Huron Shores

September 21, 2006 == MEDIA ADVISORY

This past summer incoming Calvin College students trekked to the North Channel region of Ontario, on the shores of Lake Huron, for a rugged and challenging version of orientation.

All told 40 first-time Calvin students participated in the college's Wilderness Orientation Program, which combined sea kayaking, rock climbing, rappelling, island camping, voyager canoeing, sailing and solo time*all with an eye to bonding.

"We're attempting to establish that initial community about which first-year students are so apprehensive," says Ryan Walter Rooks, Calvin's coordinator of outdoor recreation. "In our trips, we're forming a spiritual space where they capture a vision for their next four years."

The groups spent eight days learning their way around a sea kayak, a cliff face, a campsite and the wilderness in general. Students also undertook both hour-long and 24-hour-long solo experiences in the great outdoors.

Calvin hopes to expand the trips to include 75 students next year and even more in upcoming years.

For the full story see http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2006-07/outdoor-orientation.htm

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Received on Thu Sep 21 11:37:54 2006