This article is the first installment in a series exploring the unknown gems of Pepperdine’s convocation program
Pepperdine’s Convocation requirement has a bad connotation. For many students it is an unnecessary chore dumped on them at an inconvenient time: Wednesday mornings. The small lectures work into each student’s already strained sleep schedule and at times their purpose is tough to understand.
But what if convocation was more than that?
For a group of 25 students during weekend of Oct. 9 convocation meant camping in the Sequoia National Forest four hours north of campus. The trip was titled ‘God in the Wilderness’ and offered four credits for all who attended. For those on the trip the requirements fulfilled were secondary to the experience itself.
The trip was structured as a retreat of sorts — a chance for students to leave the hustle and bustle of campus and detox in the mountains even if for only 72 hours. Within hours of arrival the group was hiking up the mountains to a panoramic lookout spot atop one of the many summits. The serenity of the trails and nature was therapeutic for those scaling the side of the mountain. When the group reached the top overlooking all of God’s glory for miles in every direction the students couldn’t help but feel like they were stealing those credits from Pepperdine. Most would have done it for free.
The following day everyone hung out at the campsite and got to know each other better. The medley of people comprising the assembly was surprising: freshmen sophomores seniors graduate students residential directors. It was clear that the community forming around the burning embers was a unique experience impossible to capture on a Wednesday morning.
The culmination of the weekend retreat came on Saturday afternoon at the Trail of 100 Giants a path in the wilderness surrounded on all sides by some of the world’s tallest trees. Some were so big that half of the people on the trip could fit within its base with ease. Many saw the famous trail as more of a ‘mountaintop experience’ than the actual mountain the day before. For senior Reuben Dolan the trail “really made me further see how insignificant I am yet (how much) God cares about me personally.”
The trip came to a close on Sunday afternoon but the memories and experiences from the three day event will carry on for years to come in all the minds of those who took the time to sign up and step out of their comfort zones. The eyes of those on the trip (besides being opened to God’s majesty all around them) were opened to the opportunities convocation provides students at Pepperdine. Comfort zones are meant to be stepped out of and it’s on the outside of that box where the whole system itself finds justification a place to better our lives in ways no classroom could ever quantify.
The opportunities are always out there. Club Convos occur weekly and help establish small groups around a common interest such as yoga cooking or star gazing. Amazing trips like ‘God in the Wilderness’ this weekend pop up all the time and don’t always fill up. The options are hidden all around campus and are largely untapped. Student’s ideas of convocation are slowly but surely starting to reshape. But until that process is completed these eclectic convocations will continue to be Pepperdine’s best-kept secret.