Charged with welcoming the vast majority of incoming freshmen to campus, director Peety Kaur ’15 and assistant director Sam Parker ’15 will lead the 2015 Dartmouth Outing Club First-Year Trips directorate. They aim to emphasize community service, sustainability and the incorporation of students from across campus in the application process.
Kaur and Parker said that the 2015 DOC directorate will be announced to the campus via an email this morning.
This year, Kaur and Parker said they hope to hold information sessions for potential Trip leader and Croo applicants, which will aim to attract more volunteers who may not have been previously involved with Trips, they said.
Kaur said that she thinks that the information sessions will increase transparency in the application process, which she said she believes is very important. In the information sessions, applicants will be told exactly what the directorate is looking for and how to present their skills in the most effective manner on their applications, Kaur said.
People who have not been involved with Trips in the past may be unsure of how to show that they have the skills and assets needed to volunteer, Kaur said. The information sessions will create “an equal playing field for applicants,” because it will teach all candidates how to stand out on their application, Kaur said.
Kaur and Parker hope to host panels comprised of speakers who have been involved with Trips in the past, Parker said. Speakers will be able to answer questions and speak to their own experiences in the application process and preparation for their Trip or Croo, Parker said.
The directorate also wants to incorporate more community work into the Trips program by revamping the community service trip, Parker and Kaur said.
Additionally, sustainability initiatives — such as rerouting buses to maximize efficiency and increasing sustainable food options as well as using local food — will continue to be expanded and emphasized in the 2015 Trips program.
This year, Connections Croo — a Croo aimed at providing guidance to freshman in the lull between their return from Trips and orientation week — will not be renewed.
The resources used by Connections Croo will be used to fund other aspects of Trips, Parker said. She added that the orientation team — which facilitates all freshmen activities during orientation week — overlaps with the work of Connections Croo and does the job well on their own.
Kaur said that she was excited to work with the rest of the 2015 directorate, adding that they will “have a huge role in shaping this program.”
Parker and Kaur aim to sustain volunteers’ energy and thoughtfulness throughout the entire program, adding that Trips can get “hectic” as program start dates draw closer.
The new directorate comes from a pool of deserving applicants, Kaur said. She added that she hopes that candidates will still volunteer for Trips even if they did not get a directorate position.
In the past, Kaur served as a member of the inaugural Oak Hill Croo and as Oak Hill Croo captain this past summer. Parker served as sustainability coordinator and Trip-Leader trainer this past summer.
Former DOC trips director Gerben Scherpbier ’14 said in an email that he is excited to see where the new directorate will take the program this year.
“Peety and Sam have contributed significantly to improving the program over the last two years and I know they will make a phenomenal leadership team,” Scherpbier said.
Kaur and Parker have begun planning trips nine months in advance for the purpose of gathering feedback and thinking about how they can improve all aspects of the Trips program.
Applications for Trip leaders and Croos will come out at the end of February, Parker said.
Alex Moushey '16 is a member of The Dartmouth senior staff.
Staff members Noah Goldstein and Laura Weiss contributed reporting to this story.
Update: This story has been updated to include all of the new2015 Dartmouth Outing Club First-Year Trips directorate members.
