What comes to mind with tug-of-war, flag painting and a Steve Harvey appearance all in the same place? Probably nothing—that is, unless you happened to be on the Class of 2026’s Freshman Retreat. 

On October 7, Rockhurst kicked off the Freshman Class’s inaugural year at Rockhurst with the Freshman Retreat, an annual event coordinated by the Pastoral Department and a Freshman Retreat Core Team, aiming to give freshman students an early opportunity to build new friendships.

“I really bonded with some of the seniors that were my leaders, and then I made some new friends from my freshman class,” said freshman Finn Dobbler. “It’s just a really good experience.”

Forming strong ties early helps to unify the freshman class, preparing for the day when freshmen will be leading not only future retreats, but the school, said senior August Thompson, one of the two Core Team co-leaders.

“We consider it the pinnacle experience for freshmen at Rockhurst,” said Thompson. “It’s a place and time where they get to meet some of their classmates who maybe they would’ve never encountered, and then foster those relationships for the rest of their four years.”

Though a Rockhurst tradition for decades, over the past two years, COVID-19 forced the Freshman Retreat to adapt to changing circumstances. Away went treasured traditions like “Hometime”, where group leaders took their freshmen to their homes to hang out and eat dinner, and capacity restrictions meant Mass in smaller spaces like the Barry Commons had to be moved to larger and more impersonal areas of Rockhurst, such as Mackey Field. 

This year, however, retreat planners intended for the Freshman Retreat to come roaring back full steam. With the exception of an overnight stay at the school and a change of date from a typical January retreat to now October, the Core Team sought to make the Freshman Retreat seem as normal to freshmen as possible, after two years of anything but normal. 

“I had a great experience my own freshman year,” said senior Joe Staker, a co-leader of the Freshman Retreat, “so I felt like I had a responsibility and obligation to give back to Rockhurst in the same way that I received.”

One way seniors and some juniors give back is by serving as group leaders on the retreat. With almost 40 groups, each containing two upperclassmen group leaders and around eight freshmen, group leaders form the very backbone of the retreat.

 Group leaders spend their time and effort doing everything from decorating their group’s rooms (themes this year ranged anywhere from Krispy Kreme to Trailer Park Boys) to opening up their homes to the freshmen for a couple hours. 

Caleb Truelove, a junior retreat leader, echoed a common theme among upperclassmen—giving freshmen the best retreat possible, whether or not their own freshman retreat evoked positive or negative feelings.

“It was a great experience. It was a good way to inspire them and teach them some different things that I didn’t have as a freshman,” said Truelove. “[With COVID], we didn’t get that same opportunity to have the freshman retreat [in a normal environment].

“For them it was a good learning opportunity to really buy into the Rockhurst experience. We hammered down the point that you have to join different clubs and do different things to really get that full Rockhurst experience.”

The Freshman Retreat above all is about its namesake—freshmen. From the reflection questions asking what situations freshmen found themselves forming friendships in, to alumni speakers brought in to speak about their own experiences as freshmen, every aspect of the retreat is geared specifically towards Rockhurst’s youngest class. 

“It’s a retreat that the community puts on because we care so much about our newest members of our community, our freshmen,” said Matt Nickson, director of the Pastoral Department. “[The community] rallies around the freshman class to say, ‘You guys are unique. You guys are special. And this is your school.’”

To the actual freshmen taking part in the retreat, reviews were unanimous—the Freshman Retreat was a hit. 

“It was a really cool experience,” said freshman Liam Dennis. “I felt more of a connection to Rockhurst after, in some sense. I had an actual understanding of how important my school is and just how blessed we are to have this education.”

With deeper realizations about future ambitions and careers at Rockhurst and beyond also came a much lighter side. For Dobbler, the freshman, the “great laughs and good fun” are what he’ll remember most from his retreat.

However, he had a much starker warning about freshmen who might’ve tried to play hooky. 

“If you missed out on the Freshman Retreat, then it kind of sucks—It’s amazing.”