Orientation Week: Too good to be true
Orientation Week at CMC included several days of activities designed to help students get acquainted with each other, find their way around and get into the groove at the Timberline Campus.
The cross-country team held its own team-building activity. Coach Darren and Assistant Coach/Athletic Director Angela organized a scavenger hunt and split the team into two groups, with one group being “Team On,” and the other being “Team Honey Stinger,” named after our sponsors. I enjoyed the activity, but had difficulty staying quiet and listening to the coaches explaining the game. Some of my teammates helped me through this and Lexi reached out with her arm to have me play a game on her watch to help pass the lecture time.
A mandatory presentation for all students was held in the Climax building to discuss Title IX regulations regarding boundaries, consent and self-awareness. This time, I was better at sitting through the lecture but had a difficult time processing what they were saying. Lexi again helped me through this lecture by sitting next to me in the classroom.
Then there was a meet-and-greet event in the gymnasium. I was kind of nervous to go in because I thought there was going to be more lecturing, which ended up being the case for the first part. Later, everybody got to introduce themselves to others seated with them, then switch rows to do the same with different students. This was all a little much for me. So one of the students I met that day, Hannah Scott, walked with me to the front entryway and we both sat down on a bench. She turned out to be another compassionate friend and someone who watched out for me during my first year at CMC.
A fun activity for Orientation Week was a trip to Mount Princeton Hot Springs, about an hour away near Buena Vista. The CMC vans left campus after dinner. I had never gone on anything like this without one of my parents around. When we got there, I managed to find the locker rooms and change into my swimsuit. After that, I joined my friends in the pool. I noticed that there was also a water slide and I wanted to go down it. After the first time I went down it, I felt like I wanted to do it again. However, I ended up bonking the back of my head as I was going down the slide at high speed. This resulted in me becoming upset. Some of my teammates stepped in to help get me calmed down.
It was a late night and we got out of the pool around 11 p.m. I went back into the locker room, changed back into my regular clothes and got back in the van. We got back to campus around midnight.
The final Orientation Week activity was an All Hall meeting in the cafeteria. This was mandatory for all students living in the dorms. Jack, the head resident assistant, went over expectations, then we split into groups by floor. Since there was no R.A. on my end of the 1st floor, I didn’t have a separate meeting so I mostly just stayed in the cafeteria. The first week of classes began the next day. Once again I felt excited and nervous about the start of this new chapter in my life.
Notes from Hal
Harrison had been gone from home for 11 days now, by far the longest he’d been away and mostly he’d been on his own. Classes began the following week and we discussed over the phone locating his classrooms. The college was small enough for him to find his way around, and the residence hall was only a short walk to the academic buildings.
We had already scoped out the Rattling Jack shop so he knew where to report for his two welding classes. He also had Academic Literacy and Success, and College 101: The Student Experience. Both classes were in the New Discovery building.
Once again Mary and I were reflecting on what seemed to be an idyllic situation and transition to a new stage of life, for Harrison, and for us. Of course I was aware there had been some minor issues but that was to be expected. We didn’t think this would be a completely smooth ride. But it almost seemed too good to be real. . . . And of course it was.
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