Moving to the music’s beat, Chinenye Obiechina ’28 clasped hands with her dance partner and felt the release of pent-up anxiety.
She was surrounded by more than 25 other first-year students learning to salsa dance as part of a Denison off-campus orientation experience. The spacious studio echoed with the sounds of merengue, laughter, and high-fiving as the instructor encouraged the salsa newbies.
An hour earlier, Obiechina had been crying, all the emotion of leaving home and saying goodbye to her parents bubbling to the surface.
“Some of the students in my group came up and hugged me before we left campus,” said Obiechina, who was part of the art orientation trip to Columbus, Ohio. “They asked me if I was OK and they reassured me that many of them felt the same way. When I got on the dance floor and started learning the moves, it felt amazing. Like a weight had been lifted. I wasn’t thinking about anything but having fun.”
Institutional priority
That’s the aim of the university’s program, which offered 17 trip options spanning three states.
More than 550 students spent their first weekend as Denisonians traveling off campus to bond with classmates. The trips, provided at no cost, covered a wide array of options — from whitewater rafting in West Virginia to connecting with alums and attending a baseball game in Cleveland.
For several years, Denison offered a limited number of off-campus excursions to incoming students. Nathan Graves, director of orientation and first-year experience, said students who participated in these trips often transitioned with greater ease into campus life because they had spent several days making friends on the road.
Three years ago, university leaders began discussing how to expand the program. Participation jumped from 250 students in 2023 to 559 in 2024. First-years involved in fall sports were excused.
“This has been an institutional priority across the college,” Graves said. “As President Adam Weinberg says, we are an institution that focuses on relationships and experiences. These trips get at the heart of that.”
‘I have my network now’
It didn’t take Violet Tuttle ’28 long to discover not everyone on the art orientation trip was majoring or even minoring in the arts.
She said high school friends attending orientation at other colleges did not have such a luxury.
“Their programs were divided into majors,” said Tuttle, a psychology major with a neuroscience concentration. “The great thing about Denison is they want to nourish all our interests. I love art, and I got a chance to go on a trip with people who share that interest.”
Students were asked to pick their top five choices so organizers could balance the 17 experiences. Cam Bonner ’28 got his second option, and in hindsight he loved the opportunity to join the Big Red Connection group traveling to Columbus.
Bonner spent time at Denison Edge, a downtown extension of the Knowlton Center for Career Exploration, and networked with about 15 alums.
“I had three really good conversations and set up a Zoom meeting with Lauren Sabo ’13, who runs a law firm,” Bonner said. “I’ve worked with Habitat for Humanity, and when Lauren was talking to the group, she mentioned she had, too. So there was an immediate bond.”
The weekend excursions, which included student orientation leaders and faculty or staff, were filled with events and activities. The Big Red Connection featured visits to the zoo, an art museum, and a minor-league baseball game. The group also dined together and played pickleball.
The students had their evenings free. Bonner and several classmates toured downtown on scooters and watched football games together in hotel rooms.
Tuttle said the downtime allowed students to enjoy some deeper conversations about their lives.
“There was a lot of open talk,” she said. “We got to learn more about each other outside our interests.”
Most students said the primary object of the trips was satisfied by the time they arrived back on campus.
“I feel like I have a network now,” Celia Car ’28 said. “I can walk into a dining hall and know I will see friends from my trip. I’ll be able to sit down at a table and feel welcomed.”