When someone thinks of college, they would normally not think of the word “camping” to go along with it. However, this weekend, the office of Student Life services hosted its seventh annual Pioneer Adventure Weekend (PAW), which was organized by Maria Ochoa, director of resident life.
PAW consisted of students from all years, resident educators, two members of The Globe and student life staff.
Pioneer Adventure Weekend is a two-day trip that happens on one weekend every October and attendees take a coach bus, provided by Lenzner Lines, to Deer Valley YMCA Family Camp, located next to “The Highest Point of PA” in Somerset County.
The weekend contained various activities such as high-ropes, kickball, archery and ceramics; hiking, food and more. For $10, attendees were able to partake in everything the camp has to offer.
High-Ropes
The first event of the weekend took place at the high-ropes, a course that is suspended off the ground high in the trees. The course contains an easy course and an advanced course.
Anyone who participated in the high-ropes was strapped into a harness and a helmet for safety. The harnesses hook on a cable that runs through the whole course.
Drunk Goggle Kick-Ball
The second event was “drunk goggle kickball”, organized by Juniors Devyn Amigh and Becca Whealdon. Amigh said she and Whealdon were in charge of planning a themed program for their residents, and since October is a “Drugs and Alcohol” theme, they came up with the idea for the “drunk goggle kickball” event.
“The idea for the lesson was to show what it is like to be under the influence while trying to accomplish a physical goal,” Amigh said. “Players put on ‘drunk glasses,’ which simulate disoriented vision, and played a kickball game.”
Dinner and Second Dinner
After the first two events of the trip, attendees were called into the cabin for dinner. The dinner consisted of a large charcuterie board with various fixings, canned sodas, snacks and dips.
Sami Schaefer, another PAW attendee and a junior, said that she really enjoyed the price of the outing.
“Even renting a boat probably costs quadruple the amount that we paid,” Schaefer said. “$10 dollars for everything [and] you get food all night – as much food as you want.”
Second dinner consisted of roasting smores, moonpies and hotdogs by a campfire. At night, the fire was put out to ensure the safety of everyone. During the day, the fire kept tended to all day long.
Ceramics
After dinner, attendees went to the Crafts Shop to paint ceramics up to $10 and under. All fees were covered by Ochoa.
Attendees spent three hours painting various designs on ceramic figures such as hedgehogs, cups, houses, containers and more.
Candyman
At night, PAW attendees stayed up until 4:00 a.m. playing a game called “Candyman,” a game in which one player is designated as the “Candyman” and has to hide three parts to a flashlight in the pitch-dark cabin for the other players to find.
“Candyman” also had to wear red glow-sticks to make their presence known and couldn’t use a flashlight. The other players are required to find all three pieces and assemble the flashlight without getting caught by the “Candyman”.
This year was the year that participants stayed up the latest playing the game.
Sophomore Resident Educator Ailka Samora said that she really enjoyed “Candyman” and learned a lot about her self-confidence.
Archery
The next day, archery was available to all the attendees in the morning and afternoon. Almost everyone showed up to archery and learned how to draw a bow, load an arrow and properly shoot.
Any participants were instructed on proper safety precautions by camp employee Casey Collins, a resident of the Farmington area. Collins instructed participants on how to know when a range is “hot” or “cold.”
Boating
After archery, PAW attendees were able to walk down the hill to the docks, where they can use the various boats available, such as kayaks, canoes, rowboats and an electric boat that houses at least 10 people. Participants were required to wear a life-vest on the boats.
Cindy Pietrakowski, senior resident director in student life, said this is the first year that she went on the boats.
“It was my favorite activity I ever done,” Pietrakowski said. “About 6 of us met out on the lake in our kayaks and floated together while talking, laughing and enjoying the view.”
Savannah Lee, a senior Resident Educator for Boulevard Apartments Tower B, said she enjoyed the boating event.
“Being from Florida, I see a lot of lakes, but not with a mountain view behind [them],” Lee said. “The boating activities were definitely my highlight of the trip.”
Freetime
At the same time that Archery and Boating were happening, attendees also had a five hour period of free-time, in which they can go anywhere around the camp and do what they want.
Closing Ceremony
The closing ceremony of Pioneer Adventure Weekend is a tradition that happens at the end of the trip that is appreciated by many. Every attendee is expected to create a skit, chant, song or other act that they can perform with a group at the end for a chance to win a pizza and wings party paid for by Ochoa and Pietrakowski.
This year, there were three groups that performed and while there was one winner, Ochoa and Pietrakowski made the decision to pay for pizza and wings for everyone.
The ceremony closed with a raffle, in which attendees were given five tickets to try and win one out of at least 10 prizes, with the grand prize being a $100 dollar VISA Gift Card.
PAW attendees returned to Point Park University at 10:00 p.m. and made many new friends and memories.
