One of the benefits of college is to make connections and meet new people from different backgrounds. With the life of a student-athlete being time-consuming, it can be tricky for the players to find time to interact with their fellow Loyola-Chicago students.

Lauren Schwer, the men's volleyball chaplain, helps make that process a little less complex by assisting in the execution of the University's Freshman 360 Retreat. The weekend getaway took place Sept. 14-16 on the grounds of Loyola's Retreat and Ecology Campus (LUREC).

"The retreat has three goals," Schwer explained. "Build a community with first-year students, introduce them to Jesuit education, and [allow] individual reflection on the transition from high school to college."

She also emphasized the high importance the retreat has of breaking down the barriers between the student-athletes and the non-student athletes at Loyola to help unite those who attend the institution.

Senior setter Dane Leclair, who participated when he was a freshman, completed his third year as a group leader and makes it clear how beneficial it can be to the newcomers, both on and off the volleyball court.

"It helps the [men's volleyball freshmen] come together as a class, but also get out into their class and make friendships and develop relationships within their class so we get camaraderie within the whole school," Leclair said. "Then people will come to our games who are coming for a reason, just because they saw an ad. They're coming because they know a guy, or so they can cheer a guy on specifically. That's huge and it makes the game more enjoyable for them and it makes it more enjoyable for us having people in the stands cheering us on." 

In a group of 65 first-year Loyola students, the seven men's volleyball freshmen were joined by three newcomers on the women's basketball team and five women's track and field newcomers. It was an opportunity for the men's volleyball freshmen to make friends outside of the team, and athletics in general.

"I thought it was just a really good opportunity to make friends outside of athletics," freshman Andrew Lyons said. "Overall, it was really fun. I think a lot of guys had a good time reflecting on the chaos of running to practice and the weight room. We don't have any time to sit and think, so it was nice to just chill out for a weekend, nothing stressful and just have a good time."

The activities that took place over the course of the weekend featured low-ropes initiatives and a high-ropes course, as well as inner-faith exercises. Leclair and the other group leaders also facilitated small group talks to help the first-year students become the best version of themselves. One example was having balance in one's life with things such as academics and enjoying a social life.

A unique task the participants took part in was a 20-minute silent writing workshop where the group responded to a prompt in their journals, with the criteria being they had to continue to write for 20 minutes.

"They usually think 20 minutes is a lot, but once they get into it they often say it's not enough," Schwer said.

Both Leclair and Lyons said they "absolutely" recommend the retreat for first-year students at Loyola University.

"Number one, you make a ton of friends. Right off the bat you meet 50 new people who you probably haven't met yet, so there's some friendships right there. It also puts you in a mindset that college is an explorative time in your life, and I think that kicks off that exploration really well," Leclair said.

"My big thing was just trying to talk to people and make new friends, see people around campus more and say 'what's up,' and trying to get to know people outside of the team," Lyons said. "I thought it was a really good opportunity to make friends outside of athletics."

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