The Priddy Experience Trip is a five day, community-service based, orientation trip for first-year and transfer students. The Priddy Experience is a part of New Student Orienta-tion (NSO). First year and transfer students arrive on campus a week before classes start. There are a few days of on-campus orienta-tion, followed by the off-campus orientation trip. The trips consist of seven to ten incom-ing students and two upperclassmen student leaders. Students volunteer in a front country, urban, or backcountry setting, tackling social and environmental issues including hunger and homelessness, educa-tion, LGBTQ issues, trail maintenance, and sustainable farming. The trips are spread out throughout Colorado and New Mexico, with one trip to Texas. Our backcountry trips are

stationed throughout various Colorado mountain ranges including the Sangre de Cristos, the Collegiate Peaks, and the San Juans. In the past nine years, NSO has teamed up with over 100 regional nonprofits and national forests. All of the trips are led by current CC students, with the exception of a few backcountry trips that are led by recent CC alums as professional guides.

Incoming students are placed on trips based on a questionnaire they filled out during the summer. They meet with their groups during on campus orientation, where leaders facilitate ice breakers and “getting to know you” games. On Wednesday, the trips depart by van or bus and arrive at their volunteer site.

Each night, the students and their lead-ers discuss a variety of topics related to life at Colorado College. These topics include: academic expectations, campus social life, and the importance of culture. The nightly reflections allow students to express their fears and concerns about coming to college, and many learn they are not alone.

Thursday and Friday are volunteer days. Students perform a variety of volunteer work, ranging from building a part of the Continental Divide Trail, building backcountry campsites, picking organic asparagus, and cooking a meal for a homeless shelter. In

those two days alone, the students complete around 10,000 hours of community service. On Saturday, the groups have a full day of exploring the area around them. Saturday activities include shopping in Santa Fe, summiting one of Colorado’s 14,000 foot peaks, soaking in hot springs, and going to an antique car show. The trips return on Sunday afternoon, ready to start class on Monday.

The trips create a truly special introduc-tion to Colorado College. Trip participants form close bonds with their peers, as well as their leaders. Incoming students are now ready to start college with a solid group of friends. Thanks to the upperclassmen leaders, many of the first years’ questions about social and academic life are answered and their nerves are calmed.

A first-year wrote on their 2011 trip eval-uation , “I genuinely enjoyed every moment of the past five days. The views and activities were all incredible, but the people I got to share them with were what made the experi-ence great” (San Juan National Forest). These experiences are available to every incoming student without cost. The trips, now completely overseen by the Outdoor Education Department, are an integral part of every student’s experience at Colorado College.

The Priddy Experience: A Closer Look

Happenings MEETINGS:

Outdoor Recreation Club: Every Tuesday at 12:15 in the WES Room

Climbing Association of Colorado College: Thursday at 12:15 in Upstairs Worner

Kayak Club: Roll Sessions and club meeting every Monday 8-9:30 pm—All skill levels welcome!

GEAR HOUSE HOURS:

Monday-Friday: 4 pm-8 pm RITT KELLOGG CLIMBING GYM HOURS:

Monday-Thursday: 4 pm -10 pm

Sunday: 6 pm-10 pm

TRIPS:

·Day Trips BreakOut Saturday: Ronald McDonald

House: 9/17 BreakOut Saturday: Farmfest 2011 in

Denver: 9/24 ORC Day Hike Series: 9/17, 9/19, 9/21,

9/22 Outdoor Education trip to REI: 9/22 · Block Break One BreakOut—La Puente BreakOut—DAWGS ORC—FOOT Trips Cycling Club—Aspen Bike Trip

SPECIAL EVENTS:

Student Leader “Welcome Back BBQ” —9/13

ORC Retreat to the Cabin—9/16 FUCC Film Screening—9/23 FUCC Ski Pass Sale in Worner

Outdoor Education Newsletter

Volume 1, Issue 1 Block One, 2011

C o l o r a d o C o l l e g e

-Lauren Paley ‘11

Priddy Experience at DAWGS, Dalhart, TX

Students on the Priddy Experience volunteering at Santa Cruz Farms, Espanola, NM

What happened over the summer?

Elizabeth Pudder, Assistant Director of Outdoor Educa-

tion & Orientation, Lauren Paley ‘11, staff intern, and

Brendan O’Donoghue, Shaye Smith, Marley Hamrick, and

Ryan Ogi , student interns worked around 3,000 hours

on putting together NSO and getting Outdoor Education

ready for the year!

54 NSO trips were sent out to various front country,

urban, and backcountry service sites, donating 10,000

hours of community service!

New staff were hired to the Outdoor Education

department to get us of to a great start!

trips, weekend trips, block break trips, and even spring break trips. Trips range from a single day hike in Colorado Springs to a multi-day, multi-sport adventure. Recent ORC trips have included: hiking, camping, backpacking, canyoneering, caving, mountain biking, rafting, kayaking, snowsnoeing, hot springs and sand dunes adventuring, back country skiing, extreme sledding and more. There was even an "Extreme Dating" trip in 2004, which included dinner and a movie. Participants were dressed as pirates, dined at La Casita, paired off to simulate a blind-date scenario, and finished the night together watching a film. The ORC also partners with various on campus clubs and organi-zations, including programs through The Office of Minority and International Students, to arrange outings. Aside from trips, the ORC has a yearly retreat to the cabin, adventure film screenings, a cross-campus scavenger hunt and an extensive leader training program. The ORC has weekly meetings open to the campus every Tuesday at 12:15pm in the WES Room, as well as a very active email listserv. They have multiple trips a block with sign-ups in Campus Activities. The ORC is excited about this upcoming year and really interested in having new members join—check it out!

Email us

your photos!

Thoughts from the field: Broken Hand Pass, NSO 2011

Although every year I have to ask myself, "great NSO or greatest NSO?" This year I didn't have to ask. The backcountry trip to Broken Hand Pass this year was the most cohesive, inclusive, and open group I have been a part of in any aspect of Colorado College. Lizzy Eichorn, myself, a third time NSO leader and Music Major, and our 11 first-year ducklings made our way into the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness to take part in two days of campsite building with the Rocky Mountain Field Institute to improve uncomfortable, eroding campsites into homey, sustainable ones. Our campsites looked so appealing that we had people asking if they could use them while we were still putting the finishing touches on the project. On the third morning of the trip we had a beautiful day to summit Humboldt Peak, a stunning 14’er looming above our campsite. The first-years on the trip are now so close that they have been taking time out of their busy first-year schedules to hang out together. Next year’s class is going to have to really step up to be as cool as 2015!

Have a question about Outdoor Education or any of the groups we advise (BreakOut, ORC, FUCC,

Kayak Club, Cycling Club, Ahlberg Gear House, Ritt Kellogg Climbing Gym)?

Email us! OutdoorEd

@ColoradoCollege.edu

You may ask yourself, why are these people in spandex and hiking boots? Why are they dancing in 12 passenger vans to Euromo-tion and playing games like “Yee-Haw” and “Ninja”? Who are they and what do they do? They are Colorado College’s Outdoor Rec-reation Club, better known to the campus community as “the ORC.”

The ORC is a student-run club that sends members of Colorado College on outdoor adventure trips. It was officially formed in 1970, operating under the mission state-ment of a “student-led organization, committed to introducing, educating, and supporting the Colorado College community through wilderness activities in a safe, enjoya-ble and environmentally responsible manner.” Using the name Outdoor Recreation Committee, the ORC was a subcategory of CC’s Leisure Programs Committee. Leisure Programs has evolved and, the ORC remains strong. For 30 years, it was entirely student-led with very little college oversight. As a part of the college’s “Vision 2010,” in 2002, a paraprofes-sional was hired in the Student Life Division to oversee the students’ outdoor recreation. In 2004, the college hired its first Director of Outdoor Education who turned the ORC into a staple program of the college. The ORC sends out a variety of day

Campus Group Highlight: Outdoor Recreation Club

Past ORC members backpacking near the Baca Campus

-Lauren Paley ’11 with help from Andrew Wallace ‘12

A Reason to Celebrate!

Thanks to Bon Appetit for the most successful NSO food pack-out yet!

The Aspen Bike Trip is continuing its tradition of being the longest running block break trip ever—over 60 years!

The Ritt Kellogg Climbing Gym opened—Thanks Dan Crossey for all your mentorship and help!

Welcome new staff members in Outdoor Ed!

-Brendan O’Donoghue ‘12

Need gear?

The Ahlberg Gear House

(1024 Weber St.) has a

variety of outdoor gear

available to rent!

Photos: Clockwise Order Students performing trail maintenance on Cross Mountain

Sunset over the Comanche National Grasslands A CC student and a resident of the Trinidad Inn Nursing Home sharing a drawing The La Plata group striking a pose Trippees performing some heavy lifting at the Explora Science Center Students from the Larga Vista Ranch and Dairy trip exploring Colorado State Fair on their cultural day

Photos from the 2011 Priddy Experience

Photo by David Spiegel