Trek
Trek is a tremendous leadership laboratory!
At Monticello College, TREK means wilderness excursions in which students learn to spend extended periods of time out of doors relying almost entirely on what nature provides.
TREK is a tremendous leadership laboratory. When faced with randomly chosen groups, varying conditions of weather, fatigue and risk; students overcome fears, learn to pay attention to detail, discover how to get along with others, and quickly adjust to changing conditions.
In the opening orientation semester, first year students will be taught the rudiments of living in the field and of survival theory—principles of relevant tools, orienteering, physiology, first aid, living in and off the land, field clothing and cover, weather, etc.
After training, they will begin going out, over the course of their stay on campus, in teams of three or four on easy acclimation wilderness excursions. All students will be issued standard Trek equipment that they will be responsible to maintain.
Later, they will take much longer Treks with smaller groups including solo Treks. As proficiency increases, so can the nature of the challenges.
As students graduate, veterans of as many as twenty Treks during their tenure at Monticello College, they will be prepared to confidently survive in virtually any circumstance—and indeed crave opportunities to continue such adventures through their lives.
Many current leaders can point to defining moments of challenge or difficulty, moments in which they rose to the occasion, and which helped mold their character. Trek is designed to do just that.