Freshmen Hit Trails Not Books -- Yet

August 10, 2000
University Park, Pa. — While thousands of new students across the country begin their undergraduate career hitting the books, 100 Penn State freshmen will hit the trails of central Pennsylvania. With backpacks weighing more than 35 pounds, students will face rugged terrain, form bonds and develop skills to help them make the transition to college life.

Orion, Penn State's Wilderness Orientation Program, is a six-day backcountry experience offered to new students and will be held Aug. 6-11 and Aug. 13-18. Named after one of the most prominent constellations in the northeastern sky, it is collaboration between Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, Continuing and Distance Education and the Penn State Outing Club. Each session will consist of 50 students, the largest number of participants in Orion's 4-year history.

"The program's goal is to ease students' anxieties about going to college and give them an opportunity for personal growth," says Lynne Hudson, program director for Shaver's Creek and co-creator of Orion. "The activities will help students learn teamwork and conflict resolution skills."

All trips begin and end at Penn State's University Park campus. Split into 5 groups of 10 -- each with a male and female instructor -- the students will spend four days and five nights hiking the Mid-State trail, learning the proper methods of environmental-friendly camping, including water filtration, sanitation, and fire building. The fifth day consists of a high-adventure experience and team building. Each group's adventure will depend on their instructors' areas of expertise, such as rock climbing or high ropes. Students are required to keep a journal during their adventure.

On the last day, students and instructors will meet at the Civil Engineering Lodge at Stone Valley to reflect on the mental and physical challenges they faced during the trip -- individually and as a group -- and discuss how those challenges will be similar to the ones they will face as new students.

The students are also required to write a reflection paper about their experiences, attend a three-hour wrap-up session and develop and participate in a community project with their trip group. "Last year the groups worked together to build a 60 foot boardwalk over a marsh at Shaver's Creek," said Hudson.

Orion is a 2-credit course -- Kinesiology 297. Included in the $175 program fee are camping equipment and food. Students supply their own personal gear, including a pair of broken-in hiking boots, water bottles and appropriate clothing.

Wilderness orientation programs have become popular at universities and colleges over the past 20 years and are a rustic approach to integrate new students to the campus. Some universities, like Princeton, have more than half of their incoming students participate in these programs. Dartmouth, which began its wilderness program 65 years ago, has one the largest programs with nearly 90 percent of its freshmen participating.

Contact:
Amy Neil, Department of Public Information at (814) 865-7517 or at
Lynne Hudson, Program Director for Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, at (814) 863-2000 or at