Open AccessIn Their Own Words
Author(s) -
Diane M. Waryold,
J. Joy James
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the journal of college orientation and transition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2690-4535
pISSN - 1534-2263
DOI - 10.24926/jcotr.v17i2.2720
Subject(s) - intrapersonal communication , wilderness , meaning (existential) , natural (archaeology) , psychology , orientation (vector space) , interpersonal communication , social psychology , pedagogy , mathematics education , geography , ecology , geometry , mathematics , archaeology , psychotherapist , biology
Wilderness orientation programs, as a special type of orientation, have become commonplace at many colleges and universities. The First Ascent (FA) program is an example of one such program and is a small piece of a comprehensive first-year experience offered at Appalachian State University (ASU). This program evaluation is intended to uncover the meaning of First Ascent through students' voices. Specifically, this qualitative study used naturally occurring data as an unobtrusive measure to gether feedback from participants over the eight-year period in which First Ascent has been in existence. Analysis of the data revealed that students spoke of the interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects of the experience as well as the importance of the natural world as a medium. Issues of personal welfare were notable but not prevalent.