Year 2 @ CSU provides free snowshoe trip to second year students
by Natasha Leadem
FORT COLLINS, COLO. – Twelve
second-year students are kicking back today after returning from a four-hour
snowshoe hike up to Cameron Pass this weekend. The trip, offered only to second
year students, was culminated though a partnership between the student group
Year 2 @ CSU and the CSU outdoor program.
A transition program, similar to CSU’s orientation programs, Year 2 @ CSU focuses on providing second year students in their “forgotten year” of college the opportunity to get involved with the university.
“There’s a lot of research that shows on college campuses that second year students are under-programmed for,” said Eric DeLuca, outdoor program coordinator for the Rec center. “For freshmen there’s Ram Welcome and residential life, and junior and senior year are more geared towards internships and career building, but there aren’t very many activities offered to sophomores.
Formed last year, Year 2 @ CSU offers a wide range of resources to second year students including an alternative spring break to Boulder Creek, California, academic transition workshops through the TILT office, and a True Faculty Dinner Series where students can make valuable connections with CSU faculty members. The group recently added their partnership with the CSU outdoor program to the mix this year, and the Cameron Pass hike was one of several outdoor opportunities they plan to offer in the future.
David Ovitsky, a business marketing major and Year 2 board member, accompanied the students up to Lake Zimmerman on Cameroon pass and helped facilitate the trip. Ovitsky was one of two members responsible for coordinating the outdoor partnership with the Rec center.
“People come to Colorado to go outside and no one was providing these experiences for people to go outside so I thought I would give it a shot,” said Ovitsky. “For the snowshoe hike we wanted to bring a group of people together who probably wouldn’t hang out with each other if it wasn’t for the trip.”
Year 2 offered the hike to all second year students via email with all costs covered by the two corresponding groups. Students were selected on a first come first serve basis, and were required to sign up for the trip through a link provided in the email. Within 30 minutes of sending the invite the trip was already full with a number of students placed on the waiting list.
Meghan Kleeman, a sophomore biology and German double major, was one of the first to sign up and couldn’t have been happier with her decision to try something new.
“[The trip] drew a fun crowd,” said Kleeman. “Everybody was just really open and looking to have a good time. There’s so many cool people at CSU and it was nice to get to experience a different demographic than I’m used to.”
With the sun shining and a winter storm having dumped in between 6 and 10 inches of new snow the night before, the 12 strangers were able to enjoy one other’s company, and make connections that otherwise would not have been possible.
A transition program, similar to CSU’s orientation programs, Year 2 @ CSU focuses on providing second year students in their “forgotten year” of college the opportunity to get involved with the university.
“There’s a lot of research that shows on college campuses that second year students are under-programmed for,” said Eric DeLuca, outdoor program coordinator for the Rec center. “For freshmen there’s Ram Welcome and residential life, and junior and senior year are more geared towards internships and career building, but there aren’t very many activities offered to sophomores.
Formed last year, Year 2 @ CSU offers a wide range of resources to second year students including an alternative spring break to Boulder Creek, California, academic transition workshops through the TILT office, and a True Faculty Dinner Series where students can make valuable connections with CSU faculty members. The group recently added their partnership with the CSU outdoor program to the mix this year, and the Cameron Pass hike was one of several outdoor opportunities they plan to offer in the future.
David Ovitsky, a business marketing major and Year 2 board member, accompanied the students up to Lake Zimmerman on Cameroon pass and helped facilitate the trip. Ovitsky was one of two members responsible for coordinating the outdoor partnership with the Rec center.
“People come to Colorado to go outside and no one was providing these experiences for people to go outside so I thought I would give it a shot,” said Ovitsky. “For the snowshoe hike we wanted to bring a group of people together who probably wouldn’t hang out with each other if it wasn’t for the trip.”
Year 2 offered the hike to all second year students via email with all costs covered by the two corresponding groups. Students were selected on a first come first serve basis, and were required to sign up for the trip through a link provided in the email. Within 30 minutes of sending the invite the trip was already full with a number of students placed on the waiting list.
Meghan Kleeman, a sophomore biology and German double major, was one of the first to sign up and couldn’t have been happier with her decision to try something new.
“[The trip] drew a fun crowd,” said Kleeman. “Everybody was just really open and looking to have a good time. There’s so many cool people at CSU and it was nice to get to experience a different demographic than I’m used to.”
With the sun shining and a winter storm having dumped in between 6 and 10 inches of new snow the night before, the 12 strangers were able to enjoy one other’s company, and make connections that otherwise would not have been possible.
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