The Beginning of a SWEet Year

SWE Fall retreat 2010 took place the first weekend after school officially began (Nov 5-6) and it was definitely a great kick-off to the rest of the year with tons of interactive & fun activities. We started off our Saturday mornings with an intense four-hour challenge course at Sunset Recreation Center. This interactive course was designed to physically and mentally challenge all members in order to facilitate individual and group development. It included many team and individual challenges like building paths, climbing, jumping onto a trapeze, walking on rope hundreds of feet above the ground and group interventions after each activity to discuss personal obstacles and what helped us get past them. Personally, my favorite activity was called "The San Andreas Fault" in which we were split into two groups of five and had to act as if we were standing close to the San Andreas fault and had to construct a pathway with four pieces of wooden logs in order to get across the fault. This specific challenge required a lot of effective team work, coordination, and communication and I truly felt that we all stepped up to strategize, work together, and help each other out to cross over the fault. It definitely involved lots of courage, communication, and physical strength from all of the members and we successfully completed the activity!

Next, we headed over to a bowling alley with awesome disco lights and played a game of ten rounds. After a successful game of bowling (with the help of some bumpers), we headed over to the arcade to play some games. We played dance dance revolution, basketball, motorcycle and car rides, air hockey, and other games until we worked up a huge appetite for dinner. We dined at Lala's (an Argentinian restaurant) in Studio City close by the bowling alley, where we were accompanied by Bill Goodin and his wife!

Wej concluded our day with a beach bonfire at Dockweiler Beach by Playa Del Rey. We made yummy smores (though some marshmallows caught on fire), shared scary stories, jokes, and (nerdy) riddles while sitting around the warm fire. A couple hours later, we were ready to head back and sleep in before our first executive meeting the next morning. We gathered again the next morning at Carolyn's for a breakfast followed by a meeting, where we discussed and planned upcoming events for the academic year. All in all, it was a successful retreat that not only helped us form strong bonds but also allowed us to plan and prepare an exciting year for SWE!












Ramita Sawhney
Historian