New Fellows Retreat 2014

Another year, another new fellow class, and another successful and fun new fellows retreat! See what two of the new fellows have to say about their experience at the UNC Asheville high ropes course!

New Fellows 2014!

Jackson Pearce:
Let me preface with this: I am terrified of heights. However, when the opportunity arose to go on a high ropes course with the Shucker Institute, I silently swallowed my paralyzing fear and obliged to join in the “fun and games.”

The exceptionally early day began with a mostly silent bus ride to the high ropes course where, upon arrival, we split into three teams. The morning activities focused largely upon team building exercises on a low ropes course that challenged us both mentally and physically while encouraging us to work as a team. At some point, there was a small accident involving high velocity movement, obstinate gravel, and soft skin that ended in an emergency room visit. The rest of the morning and early afternoon was enjoyable with the time seeming to melt away in the warm, humid air.

Despite the mostly good morning, the impeding prospect of being suspended forty feet in the air seemed to occupy a large portion of my thoughts. As we began the expedition to the actual high ropes, I felt as if I was slowly being asphyxiated by the ropes from which I was soon to dangle. The “suit-up” can be described as dressing for execution, and I was sure heart failure was to occur at any moment. I went through the motions of learning how to work the belays and tried to listen to the directions, but I was fixated on the gallows towering over me. My wonderful team did several ground-training exercises that somewhat allayed my fears, but nonetheless my time was quickly approaching. Before I could really brace myself, I found myself on a wooden platform that seemed several thousand miles from the ground, and it was at this moment that I let my fear be known.

When I say I was absolutely petrified, I literally mean I refused to step off of the platform, and it was at this moment that my day really began to change. You see, the whole day was purposed to help us grow as a team and develop as leaders; yet, neither of those things can be accomplished unless there is some sort of challenge. For me, taking that first step from the platform onto the ropes was the beginning of the hardest part of my day. From then, the ropes only got more challenging and I was ready to give up before I even tried. Then something happened: my team refused to let me go. Not meaning they refused to let me go to the ground-I had several opportunities to do so. No, they refused to let me go in the sense that they had my back the entire time: the words of encouragement, the congratulations for the smallest of steps, and the absolute refusal to do anything without me. There is no way I would have finished the course on my own, but having people who genuinely cared for me right next to me somehow convinced me to push on, and I am so glad I did.

I learned a valuable lesson that day: you cannot grow as a leader unless you are willing to admit to your weakness, step off of the platform, and trust that your team will have your back. I may not be returning to a high ropes course for quite some time, but I can certainly guarantee you that I made some fantastic friends and definitely learned that sometimes the biggest step you can take is saying that you can’t take the step.     

Lexie Harvey:
Last Friday night Kathleen and I decided to stay back at the dorm and get sleep because we knew we had to wake up early in the morning for our Shucker Retreat. Going into the day, I was completely unsure of what to expect. Although I felt more prepared than JP who sprinted to the bus, shoeless, at 7:14, I was still hesitant. I boarded the bus confident; not only that I was about to take a nice long nap, but also, that I would enjoy myself. The morning was spent getting to know each other and completing team-building activities. My favorite activity was when my group (Shout out to group 3!) attempted to fit each person through a giant spider web. With all of the stipulations of the challenge, we had to restart the task multiple times. It was great to see how no one got discouraged and everyone even seemed to enjoy figuring out how we could best accomplish the feat. After lunch and a quick send off to the hospital (don’t worry, Connor lived), it was finally time to start the high ropes course.  It is safe to say that my group of four was the best group. After testing out our skills on the low course, and receiving a few minor battle wounds, JP, Peter, Jackson, and I (one of these things is not like the other?) scaled the ropes and prepared to start. It was at this time that Jackson informed us of his incredible fear of heights. As the challenges got higher and harder, our group became more encouraging. It was simply an awesome experience to watch four people, who barely knew each other, come together to encourage someone through a petrifying moment.

After the ropes course, we ate dinner together and I ate an ice cream sundae that was legitimately bigger than my face. Overall, the Shucker Retreat was one of my favorite days at Furman thus far. This class is full of unique and super cool individuals who each have something fun to bring to the table. Spending a day with them got me excited to hang out with them more. While we won’t get to scale ropes and zip line through trees every time we meet, I feel certain we will still have a blast together. 

The lead team also had a blast!