HSLP 2009: Day 2, July 12

High School Leaders Program Class of 2009
Day 2—Sunday, July 12, 2009
Reported by: Tom Daley of Richmond

     We’ve just managed to survive our first full day at the Sorensen Institute and what a day it was.  As a group we all went to the Poplar Ridge High Ropes Course and engaged in a series of team building games and exercises.
     Many people may find it odd to take a High Ropes course at an institute for leadership in government, but I couldn’t think of a better way to start our program.  For an entire day we left behind politics spent it in the middle of the woods getting to know each other, learning to trust each other, and defying gravity.  The beautiful woods near the grounds were a wonderful setting for today’s adventures.  Some people might have doubted the day when it began with an unenthusiastic game of amoeba tag, but no one could doubt the fun we were having less than an hour later trying to fit twelve people on a giant see-saw. Once we really let ourselves get into the activities, we started seeing real teamwork and real results. Again and again we learned the values of cooperation, organization and communication.  We broke up our long day with a great lunch from Bodos Bagels.  This break was well placed considering many of us were on the verge of heat stroke.  After lunch though, the real action began.
     Most people hear Nessy and think of the legendary Scottish monster; I’ll always think of the ridiculous high ropes contraption at Poplar Ridge.  It was just another team building exercise twenty five feet off the ground.  Being the first person to go I can say I was a little bit nervous but as you took the first step it became a blast.  The real highlight of the day though was the fifty-foot swing.  Hanging for a second, pulling on your release, then hurtling toward the dirt of the forest floor was one the coolest things I’ve experienced.
We all emerged from the woods for the most part unscathed and having a blast.  More importantly we all emerged good friends and a better team.

—Tom Daley, Richmond