Students socialize with each other while waiting for the Launch to start in the Amphitheatre on Nov 18. At the event, students were seated with their programs to help each other get to know one another. Photo by Alayna Yared
International Programs (IP) held their annual Launch event for students going abroad during the 2026-27 academic year in the Amphitheatre on Nov. 18. At the Launch, students come together and start building community with the people in their respective programs through various games.
The evening started with a video showcasing all of the different programs before Kelly Peterson, assistant director of marketing and student development for IP, welcomed everyone to the event and introduced the first activity.
“I’m really excited to go abroad because it’s a big part of why I came to Pepperdine,” first-year Hannah Amendolare said. “The event was a really great way to meet people in my program.”
The first activity of the night was a rock, paper, scissors tournament between programs. Each program competed amongst themselves and then the winners of each program competed against each other. The two programs who made it to the final round were Kyoto and Switzerland, with Kyoto ultimately winning.
Peterson then introduced Wallie — Pepperdine mascot Willie the Wave’s little brother — to show the crowd the winners of the next two challenges would each receive $200 for their program to have an event.
“I really enjoyed seeing all the teams getting hype and all the excitement around that,” first-year Sophia Johnson said.
Wallie, Willie’s little brother, holds one of the $200 checks. At the end of the night, Wallie awarded both checks to the Kyoto program. Photo by Briteyunna Harper
The first challenge, dubbed the “Amazing Race,” consisted of activities corresponding to the different program locations. For example, the London challenge was called “tea pong” — a spin on cup pong — and the Switzerland challenge was called “yodel on a mountain,” where students had to build a human pyramid.
For the next challenge, students from each program had to build a paper airplane that was six or more feet long. The goal was to see which program could fly their airplane the furthest between the two sets of stairs facing across from each other in the Ampitheatre.
Students work together to build a paper airplane that is at least six feet long. Each activity of the night was a chance for students to come together and build meaningful connections with the people in their programs. Photo by Alayna Yared
For both challenges, the Kyoto program was declared the winner and took home $400 for their program to host an event. This was the first time a Kyoto cohort participated in the Launch, since next year will be the first time IP hosts an academic year program in Kyoto, according to previous Graphic reporting.
The event concluded with the opportunity for students to ask their program ambassadors questions.
First-year Cailyn Parmelee said she is ready to go abroad.
“I feel super excited,” Parmelee said. “It was really nice to meet the whole group that I’m going with and the team bonding was really helpful.”
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Contact Alicia Dofelmier via email: alicia.dofelmier@pepperdine.edu
