New Class of 2010 retreat draws 17

For many, Intersession is a time devoted to getting off campus and forgetting about life at Princeton for a while. But for the 17 students who participated in the Sophomore Halftime Retreat, it was an opportunity to gather together and reflect on their Old Nassau experience thus far.

The free four-day program was held at the Carmel Retreat Center in Mahwah, N.J., and was sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students (ODUS). It was intended to help the group of sophomores evaluate how they wanted to shape the remainder of their undergraduate experience through a series of structured conversations and workshops, Associate Dean of

Undergraduate Students Thomas Dunne said. The retreat was modeled on “Companions,” a similar program at Boston College.

Students applied for the program by filling out an application provided by ODUS. Dianne Spatafore, director of the new Campus Club’s operations, oversaw the retreat and said that she “was really amazed at how well the group came together and took the time for thoughtful personal consideration as well as to get to know each other.”

Coordinators of the trip pushed participants to think intently and personally about their Princeton experiences so far. “We asked students to think about how their expectations for themselves have changed since they came to Princeton, where they derive satisfaction, how they set goals and where they find joy,” Dunne said. Participants spent the bulk of the day in sessions, though time was set aside for students to write in their journals, he added.

Juan Candela ’10 said in an e-mail that he went on the trip because he wanted to get to know other sophomores, and that he “needed some time to reflect about dreams, goals, and expectations for next semester and for the rest of the years in Princeton.”

Some students, like Candela and Simona Li ’10 decided to attend on their own, while others, like Danny Roberts ’10, went with friends and roommates. Li said in an e-mail that she signed up for the retreat because “sophomore year’s the time to make a lot of decisions, and it seemed like a fun way to meet other people who might have had similar sentiments after these one-and-a-half years at Princeton.” Expressing her satisfaction with attending the retreat, she said “it exceeded all expectations that I might have had.”

In addition to fostering new social connections, the program also helped participants move beyond superficial interactions with their classmates.

Roberts said in an e-mail that he came away from the retreat “learn[ing] that there were other people who felt the same way I do about Princeton’s shortcomings, including its fragmented social culture. The friends I made there, mostly people I had never really known before, said quite clearly things I didn’t even know I wanted to say myself.”

Candela also said he learned that “most of the people out there are just trying just as yourself to have a great time in Princeton, intellectually and socially, and that the frivolous conversations you have with everyone all the time are not really indicative of who those people really are.”

Roberts also said that one of the best parts of the program was that the organizers didn’t give the participants a schedule ahead of time. “They let us know where we had to be next whenever we need to know, and when structured time was over, we stayed up playing games and getting to know each other.”

Dunne said that ODUS plans to offer the retreat again next year.