By: Madeline Gibbons
As a sophomore Coronat Scholar, one thing I was most looking forward to this fall was the annual Coronat camping trip. In the beginning of September, Coronat Scholars are invited to attend a two-day retreat at Oswegatchie Educational Center in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains. This year, about 25 scholars attended this wonderful weekend filled with relaxation and bonding opportunities. As per tradition, the group went on a “night hike” led by the great staff at Oswegatchie. Since the fall of our freshman year, when we went on our first night hike, my roommate Georgia and I could not wait for this year's. The hike has a strict no light rule for the participants to be able to experience the magic of how our eyes adjust to the complete darkness in the woods. About halfway through the hike, we stopped on a rock overlooking the lake to test the power of silence and echo and to learn a bit about stargazing in this spectacular setting. This is one of my favorite parts of this entire weekend. It is so powerful to be in the silence of the woods where the stars are so clear after a busy first couple of weeks on campus. Following the night hike, the group went back to camp for a campfire. While making smores and enjoying the wonderful fall night, we had our first opportunity to really connect as a group through icebreaker questions like “What keeps you up at night?” and “What gets you up in the morning?” With answers from my mom to my alarm to the NYT Mini, this part of the night is always really special. Not only do all the students participate, but we also get to hear from one of the amazing Coronat Scholars program directors, Professor Sarah Pralle, who joined us on the trip this year. The first night of the trip creates a very welcoming environment for all of the Coronat Scholars to get to know one another more or sometimes even for the first time.
The following day is dedicated to more activities aimed at building trust and creating new relationships. After breakfast, smaller groups are formed to participate in games that test patience and trust. My group and I really enjoyed playing “Knot or Not a Knot” where our leader arranged a long rope to either create a knot or not while we shut our eyes. Then, by just looking at the way the rope was arranged on the ground, we had to decide if it was a knot or not. This seemingly silly game got our group a lot closer with each other because we became much more comfortable speaking to and even disagreeing with one another. The next activity is a fan favorite, the ropes courses. Oswegatchie has a few different courses from low ropes to various high ropes courses. All the smaller groups rotate through the different ropes course elements. My group started with various low ropes activities that really tested our confidence in one another as well as our problem-solving abilities. Next, we went to the high ropes area where we got to zipline and went on the swing. My personal favorite this year was the swing where we were harnessed, attached to a cable and pulled up by the rest of our groupmates on the ground. When we got to the top of the cable, we released a clip and swung over the beautiful lake.
At the end of the scheduled activities of day 2, everyone was given some free time to spend how they would like. Some opted to pack up their bags in preparation for the bus ride back to campus while others chose to take a quick swim in the refreshing lake and make use of the last few days of warm weather.
That afternoon, the group headed back to campus after an eventful weekend of unwinding and building connections. This is only my second time on the Coronat camping trip, but it really is one of my favorite parts of the year. The Coronat Scholar community is so unique because while we all how some things in common, our differences are where we really get to learn. Some of my closest friendships came from being a Coronat Scholar and meeting people who were ambitious and excited to take advantage of all the wonderful resources available to us. I left this weekend feeling really grateful to have found such wonderful people who I continue to learn from in all my interactions. For the rest of this year, I will look forward to next year's camping trip with a new group of aspiring individuals.