Fall Classic 2012!

CLASSIC – Community Leadership and Student Service in College.

My roommates and closest friends Lauren and Hazell showing off our fabulous Fall Classic sweatshirts! It was so great to be able to room with them again and get some quality time with them.

Every year, The College of Saint Rose puts together a leadership workshop that is called “Fall CLASSIC”. To put it simply, it’s a leadership retreat, where you do various workshops hosted by clubs and is led by the Student Association. But what lies beyond this leadership building are the bonds that are created with others. Last year, when I attended my first Fall Classic session, I created bonds with people who I would never have met before. It was a great experience and gave me the confidence I needed to step up in my college career and become a leader in the music department. I used the skills I acquired in order to gain more respect in my department, become a leader in music groups, and accept myself overall for who I am. This year, I hope to use the skills I learned to become a leader not only in college, but in my future career as a performer, educator, and (hopefully) an administrator in a school setting.

ANYWAY. Let me give you the run down of everything that happened!

FRIDAY
We  arrived at Lake George‘s Silver Bay YMCA at around 5:00 p.m. Unfortunately, like the year before, the weather was not ideal; clouds roamed over the sky and fog rolled in over the mountains. But did that stop us from having fun? Heck no! We (the students) went to our prospective dormitories at either Bayview or The Inn. After unpacking and getting settled, we ventured to dinner in the dining hall and got to listen to a fabulous opening speaker and participate in an interesting ice breaker activity – acting out a hilarious scripted play! After these activities, we had some down time and went straight to bed! (Actually, my friends and I cuddled all night, but that’s a different story).

SATURDAY
Let the workshop fun begin! The clubs that hosted these leadership workshops were Identity, Adventure Club, Spectrum, and Outside the [Box]. From trust falls to acting out scenarios, each club did a great job directing students into  activities that helped them grow as individuals and as leaders. My personal favorite activity was led by Spectrum – each person had to act out a “difficult conversation” (AKA an awkward/difficult situation) and discuss how we would approach that situation. It was great to broaden our minds with such controversial topics. After those workshops (and nomming on delicious food, provided by the Silver Bay YMCA), we got to do some large group activities and have some free time! There was kayaking, yoga, learning how to Step with the ALANA Steppers, and (my personal favorite) learning how to knit/crochet! After this large block of time, dinner was served, and we headed over to a Fall CLASSIC tradition: KARAOKE, hosted by the amazing and fabulous Ann Wilkening! Students got to perform and (in this case) dance along to some of their favorite songs. My friend Brett and I were able to perform the song “Survivor” and represent our a capella group, The Golden Notes! It was honestly the most fun I’ve had in a long time. After fun at karaoke, there was a bon fire and a viewing of the movie Horrible Bosses. However, my friends and I took it upon ourselves to play Taboo and cuddle in bed. We had a great time!

SUNDAY
The last day of Fall CLASSIC was short and sweet, and definitely ended with a bang! After breakfast, students got to attend their last leadership session. After some packing and winding down, we all headed over to hear from our fabulous closing speaker, student, Resident Assistant, and friend, TinaMarie Stoltz. Having known her since freshmen year (we lived on the same floor and became friends early on), I thought it was absolutely amazing to hear her talk to us and inspire us with her own story. She discussed leadership and the negative aspects that it can bring. She explained that while fear of many things can dampen your calling to be a leader, we have to find it within ourselves to rise above our fears, conquer them, and become the leader we’re meant to be. Using The Princess Diaries  and her own organization, Girls 4 God (G4G), she shared her own personal struggles and talked about how she has slowly been able to fight against her fear and become the person she was meant to be. She was absolutely inspirational, and I am so proud to be her friend. After her amazing speech, all the student participants of Fall Classic took a group picture, and headed back on the lovely CDTA coach buses back to Saint Rose.

As you can see, this was a great weekend filled with inspiration, fun, and most importantly, leadership building. I hope that everyone that participated in Fall Classic was able to take away something positive and is able to use it to make themselves a better leader. I know I certainly did!

Thanks so much for reading! See you next week! 🙂