The Dartmouth Outing Club selected 286 students to be First-Year Trips leaders this year out of a pool of 630 applicants, according to Trips director Emily Mason-Osann '11 Th '12. Of the 150 applicants for Croos the five groups of students who assist with the execution of Trips 59 students received positions.
Selected leaders were notified via email on Tuesday evening, and their specific Trips assignments were posted to the DOC's website. The Trips directorate is currently finalizing training schedules for those accepted, Mason-Osann said.
There will be 14 or 15 trips offered per section this year over 10 sections total, according to assistant Trips director Farzeen Mahmud '12. Altogether, there will be 144 trips offered, with only minor changes compared to previous years.
The DOC has added a Hiking 1 trip that will explore areas closer to campus, according to Mason-Osann. Leaders of the new trip will guide their groups to Storrs Pond through Pine Park, camping in the Oak Hill area, and will explore the regions around Balch Hill and Oak Hill.
More sections of whitewater kayaking trips will also be offered, Mason-Osann said.
The Trips directorate seeks a body of trip leaders and Croo members who reflect the diversity present within the campus community, which features a wide variety of backgrounds and interests, according to Mason-Osann.
"We are looking to form a group of leaders and Croo members that can make what we call a sustainable welcome,' creating a sense of community that begins during Trips but also exists throughout students' time at Dartmouth," Mason-Osann said. "We want leaders who are interested in forming lasting relationships with the freshmen and that can be resources for them throughout their time as students."
Applicants must consider their own Dartmouth experiences and their roles in the community as part of the application process, according to Mahmud.
"By inviting applicants to reflect on this, we set up a system wherein all these experiences drove our leadership selection and helped us to craft a team for this year," she said.
The Trips directorate conducts a blind admissions process, Mahmud said. After potential leaders submitted their applications, a reader reviews the application without access to the student's identifying information such as name, class year, gender or section availability.
The training process for accepted trip leaders and Croo members will undergo changes this year, including participation in trips organized by DOC "sub-clubs," such as Cabin and Trail, according to Mason-Osann. In addition to lessons in good decision-making and leadership, operating in the wilderness and methods to create "fun and successful" trips, the additional training components will increase leaders' familiarity with their activity and "inspire more confidence in the leaders," she said.
Rebecca Schneyer '13 said she valued her role as a hiking trip leader last year, which allowed her to serve as a resource for incoming students.
"I enjoyed seeing my group go through what I went through as a freshman from the perspective of an upperclassman," she said. "For me, being a trip leader was a great way to connect with the incoming class. Dartmouth is really all about community, and it's so important to connect with other students across years."
Brett Szalapski '15, who will lead a canoeing trip in the fall, said Trips was a formative part of his own first-year experience.
"I remember my trip leaders as being really cool and chill about everything," Szalapski said. "They were both so fun, and I really want to show the freshmen how welcoming and accessible the Dartmouth community is. I also want them to look back on Trips favorably and be motivated to apply to be trip leaders themselves come sophomore year."
