@polkajen Great question! I highly recommend it. I happen to have to done the Pathways experience, which is the Outdoors Adventures program. It was an incredibly fun experience and was a great bonding activity. For someone who came from out of state, I didn’t really know anyone going into the school, it made me really value the people I was around and getting to know other types of people outside of your typical college setting. After that, I would take almost any opportunity to go hiking in the mountains, it’s a treat. I did the backpacking trip, which was probably one of the most physically exerting ones out there, but was very rewarding. From what I know about it, I don’t think they necessarily fill up super fast but certain ones may be more popular than others, so those might run out of spaces more quickly.
I think you bond pretty quickly with the people there and at the end of the experience, you gather together with all the other Pathways trips for a giant kumbaya. I enjoyed the people that I met, and although we didn’t stay best friends after the experience (we all ended up in kind of different social circles and had our own meaningful relationships), we would gather together sometimes for a giant potluck reunions – and several of them ended up as trip leaders. You also get to know all the things the Tribe Adventure Program offers quickly: everything from Canoe Battleship, to things like Skydiving and Surfing, which is awesome. I always wish I had time to go on some more trips, but whenever I meet someone that has gone on one, its an immediate bonding experience.
I am less familiar with Seven Generations, but have done many service trips with the College and like the Pathways trips, they are very well planned. As a former trip leader myself, I think the people that you find on these trips (whether it is Outdoors or people are drawn to community service) I think you are find that people that are drawn to these experiences, are some high quality people. Many people continue to be active in these activities even after starting college, and you will get to experience it in a way that many other people have not. Some other programs I might recommend if you are interested in service include: Sharpe Community Scholars and the Aim-4 Program, focused on Community Based Research and service respectively.
If you get invited into some of the other programs like PLUS or PLUS-S, I would highly recommend those as well – they are fantastic academic and social experiences and the usefulness of those will extend beyond that time period, but those tend to be mostly invite-only. One thing I will say, is that if you don’t end up going on one of these experiences, don’t fret. There will be plenty of time for bonding and getting to know people during Orientation itself (which I think I talk about earlier, but I think it done exceptionally well), but if you do get to go on one of these trips, it is a wonderful experience.
I say a lot that William & Mary had some of the most down-to-earth and community oriented people I have met, and I admit many of those first impressions were definitely helped shaped by that perspective.