Adventures in Leadership sessions focus on the successful transition of incoming first-year students through community building, finding resources and having conversations about college life at Elon.
Each summer for the last 30 years, incoming first-year students have taken part in Adventures in Leadership (AIL). It is the oldest First-Year Summer Experience at Elon and is designed to help incoming students gain confidence before arriving on campus on August 23 for Move-in Day. Incoming students are joined by student leaders and a faculty or staff member during their session. Vice President of Student Life, Jon Dooley joined session three in the Pisgah National Forest for a backpacking trek. We caught up with Dooley when he returned from the mountains to get his insights on the session.
Why did you want to go on the AIL trip?
I’ve participated in this trip the past couple of years and it has been a great way to connect with incoming first-year students as they get ready for their college transition. When you’re out on the trail with no cell phone service the students have no choice but to actively engage with each other. There end up being wonderful conversations about what students are excited about, what makes them nervous and how they plan to approach their college experience. As an educator, there is nothing more fulfilling than being able to walk with students on that journey.
Are you a big camper?
I love spending time outdoors. I was involved in scouting during my youth and in college and grad school spent five summers as a summer camp counselor and program director. Hiking is a regular part of our vacations as a family and I enjoy any chance I can get to be out in nature.
What were you hoping to get out of the trip?
For me, it is nice to unplug for the week and be singularly focused on the aspect of my job that I love best – supporting students in their growth and development. Titles and roles don’t matter when you’re out on the trail and the ability to spend concentrated time with a group of students is a gift. It’s also fulfilling to watch the upper-class students who serve as trip facilitators developing their leadership skills and supporting their peers.
How do you think this trip prepared students for their first year at Elon?
The transition to college is a big adjustment. These summer first-year experiences can be a great way for students to connect with some of their new classmates and jump-start making new friends and finding their place. For some students, they were enjoying a backpacking experience they love, but in other cases, students were doing something they’d never tried before and challenging themselves in the process.
Did you see any changes in the students during the week?
Whenever you can take students from this generation to an environment where their cell phones don’t work and they are off social media for a week, great things happen. It was fun to watch them engage with each other and to see friendships forming in front of your eyes. It’s also wonderful to see students scaling heights, backpacking for the first time, or doing something they didn’t think they were capable of – it sets the stage for their college experience.
What were your rose, bud and thorn of the trip?
This is a great question – each evening there is a similar reflection on the activities of the day. The highlight of the trip was definitely the time on the trail, talking with students and enjoying the beauty of the Pisgah National Forest. The thorns of a trip like this are always the aches and pains that remind you that you aren’t in your twenties anymore. The buds are the relationships that these students just started – I cannot wait to see what is in store for them as they arrive on campus this fall.
Final thoughts?
For any student who missed this opportunity this summer, I hope they will check out the opportunities through Elon Outdoors when they get to campus.