First-year students 'getaway' for shore retreat

by Crystal Davis staff writer

In the hopes of better adjusting to college life and strengthening their faith, 13 firstyear students, nine upperclassmen and two representatives from Campus Ministry participated in the Freshman Getaway Retreat, held in Wildwood Crest, N.J., from Friday, Oct. 1 to Saturday, Oct. 2.

The retreat was hosted by Campus Ministry. Campus Ministers John DiMucci and Dr. Mary Sweetland Laver facilitated the event with help from junior Jessica Webb, who acted as head of the students, and eight upperclassmen who are active in student leadership.

The students stayed at the Casa Nova Motel, where they were given a block of rooms and a meeting room where they could eat and hold meetings.

The motel was located a half a block away from the beach, which was convenient because most of the retreat's games were held there.

The retreat opened with a variety of ice breakers that would allow the first-year students to become comfortable with one another and with the upperclassmen.

Some of the ice breakers included a balloon toss where students wrote their greatest hopes and fears inside of balloons and then popped them. Students tried to make each other laugh in another game called "Honey, I love you."

After the ice breakers were held, the firstyear students listened to a series of talks given by the upperclassmen dealing with adjusting to college.

The talks were titled "Hopes and Fears," "Relationships," "Faith," and "Respect." The first-year students were then given time to reflect on what they were feeling and thinking.

Tara Tyler, a first-year student who participated in the retreat, stated that she learned that self-assuredness is important.

"You have to have confidence in yourself and not worry about what other people think," she said.

Throughout the retreat, the students enjoyed prayer time, home cooked meals and fun activities.

During one of the activities, students were asked to create a collage that represented themselves.

They also participated in trips to the boardwalk and shell collecting.

The retreat ended on Saturday night with a prayer.

Students were also given cards with the name of an upperclassman who had been praying for them throughout the retreat and will be praying for them for the rest of the semester. His or her extension and box numbers were listed on the cards in case he or she needed to be reached.

First-year student John Verdi, a commuter, stated that he enjoyed the retreat.

"The trip was one of the best times I have had at Cabrini so far. It was a great chance to become a part of the campus," he said.

Other RAs share a view similar to Burton's.

"I wanted to be active," Amegbe said. "During my freshman and sophomore years, I did not get a chance to participate."

All of the RAs have different goals for the upcoming year.

They hope to improve the quality of living for students while still having fun.

Burton said that she hopes to avoid occurrences like those in previous years in House seven, where rooms were flooded and holes were punched in walls.

"I hope we have no holes or disasters and no more floods," Burton said.

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