Class of 2028 Bonds Big on Orientation Trips
Adirondack Adventure (AA) expeditions set students up to learn from and explore the great outdoors. Exploration Adventure (XA) trips expand students’ perspectives through subject-based activities like letterpress printing and beekeeping. Outreach Adventure (OA) opportunities engage students in direct service in the local community. With so much to see and do, it’s no wonder orientation trips leave a lasting impression — and have already helped the Class of 2028 make their mark.
Read on as four student reflect on their orientation journey and many plans for the future!
Adirondack Adventure
What orientation trip did you take, and why was it appealing?
Xander Despres’ first-choice orientation trip was Triple Combo Canoe. “I was just looking for a challenge, and I thought, ‘This sounds really hard. Let’s see if I can do it,’” he joked. And do it, he did. Famed “Triple Combo” trips incorporate canoes, kayaks, and hiking and are considered a “spicy”-level endeavor. But Despres was adamant: “I wanted to do something I’d never done.”
How would you describe your experience to someone who’s never been on an orientation trip before?
“I’ve done a sleepaway camp for three years,” Despres said. He even spent the past summer as a counselor at a day camp, so he thought he knew what he was in for. “It was weird to be on the other side, where I’m a kid, not a counselor,” he confessed. “And it was so much fun.” Unlike summer camps, where “you get in your group and you stick with it the whole time,” Adirondack Adventure made him feel connected to the whole community. In Despres’ words: “It was the perfect transitional period.”
Surprises about your trip?
Adirondack Adventure trips last only five days, but participants quickly form close relationships. “I’ve always been involved in music and theater, and in high school I was mostly just friends with people in music and theater. This was my first real chance to be friends with people who were wildly different from me,” Despres said. Recalling the day after the trip, when his group went to play pool together, he realized, “We were finally free to do what we want, and we chose to hang out together.”
What did you learn, and how will you expand on that at Hamilton?
“Trail spice just adds flavor. It’s not dirt, it’s trail spice,” Despres said wisely. Trail spice aside, he shared his acceptance into the College Choir and the Buffers, a cappella group. There he will return to his musical roots, though he has every intention of making friends with anyone possible.
Advice for future first-year students?
“It [my trip] felt like the right fit for me, but it didn’t just happen to be the right fit. We had to create that environment,” Despres said.
“I was just looking for a challenge, and I thought, ‘This sounds really hard. Let’s see if I can do it.’ I wanted to do something I’d never done.
Outreach Adventure
What orientation trip did you take, and why was it appealing?
Both Carson Belle-Isle and Aminata Camara were members of Youth Engagement. “The trip appealed to me because throughout high school I had a mission to help disadvantaged kids at my middle school. I did this through a peer mentoring program that would meet every month. I was inspired to continue helping students younger than me find their passions and have fun,” Belle-Isle said. Camara couldn’t agree more. “When I found out [about] the trip, I was really excited because I aspire to be a children’s doctor,” she said.
How would you describe your experience to someone who’s never been on an orientation trip before?
Belle-Isle emphasized that the bonding on orientation trips helps ease students into college life. He explained, “Even though I am not super close with all the students that I was on the trip with, [since] we go to a small school, I still see them frequently along Martin’s Way and at other locations to say hi and have a nice conversation.” Camara added that Outreach Adventure was a transformative experience and allowed her to do something she had never done before.
How did you explore your interest, and how will you expand on that at Hamilton?
“I know that when I was a kid, having people to look up to was a huge part of my development,” Belle-Isle said. “To be able to return the favor feels wonderful.” When their trip visited a neighborhood center in Utica, he was a bit nervous about making connections with the kids. Camara, too, didn’t expect to walk out with a strong connection. But neither of them needed to worry for long. Camara still talks to one of the girls she met and plans to visit her again soon. Another girl gave Belle-Isle a bracelet as a surprise. “Little does she know, I wear it every day,” he said.
Most memorable moments?
For Belle-Isle, nothing could top the bracelet he received. But playing ping-pong and tag with the kids at the center was close behind. According to Belle-Isle, they had one thing in common: they were “experiences that developed a closer relationship with students who have a different outlook on life and [used] that experience to change my perspective.” Camara also professed her new appreciation for connections with people from diverse backgrounds, ages, and circumstances.
Advice for future first-year students?
First things first, Belle-Isle said, “Do not think about anything else going on anywhere.” He reiterated, “Be here now! You won’t get to experience this again, so get yourself out there and make some new friends.” Meanwhile, Camara hopes to give her advice in a more direct manner: as an orientation leader in the future.
“Be here now! You won’t get to experience this again, so get yourself out there and make some new friends.
Exploration Adventure
What orientation trip did you participate in, and why did it appeal to you?
Margot Ratchman got a first look at a new Exploration Adventure offering: Civil Discourse and Local Politics. An intended government major and someone planning to go to law school following Hamilton, she said, “I imagined that engaging in the local political scene would allow me to immerse myself into the community here while simultaneously learning about something of genuine interest to me.”
How would you describe your experience to someone who’s never been on an orientation trip before?
Ratchman echoed Belle-Isle’s description of the “orientation program as an opportunity to ease yourself into the community here without it being quite as overwhelming.” She got to know 11 other students, and by the time she returned to campus, she had a wealth of knowledge, stories, and advice to share. Her specific trip also directly prepared her for college conversations and academics. By working with the College Debate and Discourse Alliance and meeting with local civic leaders, Ratchman learned the importance of “encouraging civil over hostile discourse.”
Surprises about your trip?
“Hamilton’s orientation program is exactly what I thought it would be and also nothing like I could have ever imagined,” Ratchman admitted. She prepared as much as possible, following the packing list, saying her goodbyes to friends and family, and showering really well the night before. And yet, she said, “I imagined I would enjoy the trip, but I didn’t realize how much I would learn. I have consistently found myself bringing in something I was taught on the trip to my everyday experiences here at Hamilton.”
What did you learn, and how will you expand on that at Hamilton?
The trip reshaped Ratchman’s understanding of discourse. She found particular wisdom in “listening to listen rather than to respond, responding to the idea rather than the person, and the importance of self-editing and humility.” She intends to use these strategies as she delves into her classes to redirect conservations, maintain civility, and encourage critical thinking.
Advice for future first-year students?
Even on a trip about discourse, Ratchman was skeptical of her orientation’s advice to stay — and fully participate — in the moment. It was hard. Some activities were tiring, others were nerve-wracking, and still others simply didn’t sound thrilling. But Ratchman was grateful that she took advantage of them all. After all, she concluded, “Nobody is going to judge you for trying, failing, learning, or having fun. And, in general, listen to your orientation leaders.”
“I imagined I would enjoy the trip, but I didn’t realize how much I would learn. I have consistently found myself bringing in something I was taught on the trip to my everyday experiences here at Hamilton.
About Hamilton
Socrates believed the first step to true wisdom is to “know thyself” because only then can one appreciate what one understands and what remains to be learned. Hamilton’s founders agreed. Today, more than 200 years later, that motto remains our guiding principle.
New Students, New President, New Year: Welcome Class of 2028
Greeted by a raucous and flamboyantly dressed group of Orientation Leaders waving witty signs and shouting words of welcome, nearly 460 new Hamilton students and their families arrived on College Hill on Aug. 20 to move in and begin Orientation.
As we welcome new and returning members of our community back to College Hill, we want to offer a glimpse into what campus has been up to these past few months while many have been away. Here’s a sampling of new spaces, new faces, renamed buildings, major moves, and more.
