Pioneer Adventure Weekend Gives Students a Respite from Bustling City-Campus Life Friday, November 1, 2024
While Point Park’s Downtown Pittsburgh campus is a major selling point, sometimes it’s nice to get out of the city. Pioneer Adventure Weekend (PAW), in its seventh year, gives students the opportunity to unplug and unwind in a wooded setting.
Taking place in October, PAW is all about the fall feels: s’mores and hot dogs around the campfire, cozy blankets and hot drinks, crunchy leaves and crisp air. This year, about 50 students took advantage of the getaway on October 18-19.
Maria Ochoa, director of Residence Life, designed and runs the program. “It’s right around midterms,” she said. “We want to give the students that mental break, fresh air and downtime to experience the outdoors.”
The adventuring students traveled about two hours southeast of Pittsburgh to the Deer Valley YMCA campground from Friday morning to Saturday night. For only $10, students were provided with food, activities, a t-shirt and a gift.
The students stay in a four-story cabin, where they can watch movies or gather around the fire. Other activities include a high ropes course, ceramics, boating, archery and hiking. The location of the camp means there’s no cell phone service, a welcome reprieve for students.
“That disconnect is a good way to refresh and get them back to who they are,” Ochoa said. “We’re having fun and talking and engaging with one another. We’re not sitting around quiet, holding our phones.”
Michael Klug, a junior multimedia major and photography minor, who attended for the first time this year said, “It is a great way to get away from the stress of life and midterms, as well as giving you the opportunity to meet new people and create bonds with them.”
Resident Educators (RE) help Ochoa with planning. This year, two REs organized a fun and educational game: Drunk Goggles Kickball.
Devyn Amigh, a junior broadcast reporting major, designed the game with fellow RE Becca Whealdon. The drunk goggles, owned by the Office of Student Conduct, simulated various levels of intoxication.
“The goggles made it difficult to see where the ball was, how close or how far objects or others were to you, and made it incredibly difficult to run,” Amigh said. “The idea for the lesson was to show what it is like to be under the influence while trying to accomplish a physical goal (like drunk driving).”
Amigh continued, “The activity was received really well! All participants (and even students who didn’t play and chose to watch) had a really great time while also understanding the message behind the event.”
From the educational to the recreational, PAW provides students with a breather just when they need it. As Ochoa put it, the whole goal of PAW is “just having that time and space to relax and rejuvenate and come back feeling different and ready to tackle anything.”
