Freshman Orientation Trips
The Outdoor Program offers two orientation experiences for incoming Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ freshman:
Freshman Wilderness Experience
UM's Outdoor Program and The Wilderness Institute have joined forces to offer an orientation experience of a lifetime. The is a chance to make friends and learn from experienced UM student leaders about what it's like at the Ñý¼§Ö±²¥. This opportunity is available for incoming UM Freshman only and immerses participants in a Montana wilderness.
One of the highlights of the FWE is the growing involvement of student alumni in the program. Each year former FWE Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ return as organizing staff members and guides for the trips. The goal of Campus Recreation and the Wilderness Institute is to make this a program run by Ñý¼§Ö±²¥, for Ñý¼§Ö±²¥. In this way the FWE program supports the University’s continuing efforts to increase retention by fostering peer networks and establishing a sense of engagement with the UM campus, Missoula and the surrounding wilderness areas.
“Being able to arrive on campus one day not knowing anyone, and then return four days later having bonded with strangers in a wilderness setting was an amazing way to integrate into the school community,” said Zoe Leake, a former FWE participant, who returned to the program as a student leader.
The retention rates of Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ who participated in FWE are as much as 18.5% higher compared to the rates of those who did not.