Program helps Rowan freshmen make connections

August 21, 2008

Washington Township's Lindsey Neumann is hoping a jaunt to West Virginia, a whitewater rafting trip, and some mud-filled, team-building activities will help her gear up for her Rowan University collegiate career.

"This is something I've never done before," the incoming secondary education and mathematics major says of activities in Rowan's Freshman Connection program, which is offering members of the Class of 2012 two programs designed to help them transition to college, have fun and make new friends even before classes begin.

Freshman Connection, which runs Aug. 25-29, is offering two tracks: Connect through Adventure and Connect through Arts & Entertainment.

During Connect through Adventure, students are traveling by bus to Oak Hill, West Virginia, where they'll live in log cabins and enjoy an array of organized activities, including mud obstacle courses and white-water rafting.

In Connect through Arts & Entertainment, 26 students will tour arts venues in three cities-New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C./Baltimore. Activities will include a Broadway performance of "Grease," Philadelphia's Mural Arts tour, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and free time to explore museums and cultural offerings in each city.

Neumann is one of 39 freshmen participating in the Adventure track. Students pay $400 for each track.

"This is a way for me to get to know some people before school actually starts," says Neumann, a graduate of Washington Township High School, who signed up for the program after seeing a video about it during Freshman Orientation in June.

Student surveys show that Freshman Connection works to build strong bonds among incoming students, according to Tina Pinocci, Assistant Vice President for Campus Recreation, Student Center and Conference Services in Rowan's Division of Student Affairs. Just as importantly, students report that the program helps them feel connected to Rowan, Pinocci notes.

"It's a fun environment and students do develop leadership skills through their involvement," says Pinocci, who is leading the Arts & Entertainment track. "Most importantly, the program gives them a nice jump-start to their first year of college."