Health Management & Policy Orientation 2016: Part 2
By: Kim Ogden
After a long week of ice breakers, department introductions, and campus tutorials, the HMP students spent their final day of orientation giving back to the community and dominating the kick ball fields. Friday morning, first-year College of Public Health students divided into groups and went to volunteer in the community. From helping to host an event for the Salvation Army, to gardening for Field to Family, to cleaning the facilities for the Iowa City Free Clinic, it really seemed like there wasn’t a part of Iowa City that we didn’t help. I was a part of the Habitat for Humanity volunteer group, where we were helping to build a house for a local family. I was amazed by my peers and their desire to help, despite the fact we truly had no idea what we were doing. It was this activity that showed me what a kind-hearted and dedicated group of people I was associating myself with, and I could not have been more proud.
After a quick break for lunch, most of the first years went to take on the second/third years in an annual department kick ball game. Everyone who was there played hard (or cheered loud from the sidelines), and it turned out to be one of the best events of the week. After an hour of play, no one really knows who won the game, but everyone admittedly had a lot of fun. And that’s what’s important, right?
With little time for a break, we moved on to the College of Public Health kickball tournament. Although the first 40 minutes went off without a hitch, the enthusiasm for these games slowly faded as everyone began to feel as though they were melting from the heat and humidity. The games were cut short, and many of the first year HMP students sat around and waited for the evening picnic to begin. At this point, I took a few moments to reflect on the past week and how I felt about my cohort that I would spend the next two years with. There we sat, 30 students who had been complete strangers 4 days prior, but to someone walking by we looked like we’d known each other for years. From the smiling, laughing, and group jokes that were already forming, I leaned back on the bleachers and felt blessed to be a part of such an incredible group of individuals. I had no idea what the next two years would have in store for us, but these last four days had proven that there was no other group of people I’d rather face them with.
After a long week of ice breakers, department introductions, and campus tutorials, the HMP students spent their final day of orientation giving back to the community and dominating the kick ball fields. Friday morning, first-year College of Public Health students divided into groups and went to volunteer in the community. From helping to host an event for the Salvation Army, to gardening for Field to Family, to cleaning the facilities for the Iowa City Free Clinic, it really seemed like there wasn’t a part of Iowa City that we didn’t help. I was a part of the Habitat for Humanity volunteer group, where we were helping to build a house for a local family. I was amazed by my peers and their desire to help, despite the fact we truly had no idea what we were doing. It was this activity that showed me what a kind-hearted and dedicated group of people I was associating myself with, and I could not have been more proud.
After a quick break for lunch, most of the first years went to take on the second/third years in an annual department kick ball game. Everyone who was there played hard (or cheered loud from the sidelines), and it turned out to be one of the best events of the week. After an hour of play, no one really knows who won the game, but everyone admittedly had a lot of fun. And that’s what’s important, right?With little time for a break, we moved on to the College of Public Health kickball tournament. Although the first 40 minutes went off without a hitch, the enthusiasm for these games slowly faded as everyone began to feel as though they were melting from the heat and humidity. The games were cut short, and many of the first year HMP students sat around and waited for the evening picnic to begin. At this point, I took a few moments to reflect on the past week and how I felt about my cohort that I would spend the next two years with. There we sat, 30 students who had been complete strangers 4 days prior, but to someone walking by we looked like we’d known each other for years. From the smiling, laughing, and group jokes that were already forming, I leaned back on the bleachers and felt blessed to be a part of such an incredible group of individuals. I had no idea what the next two years would have in store for us, but these last four days had proven that there was no other group of people I’d rather face them with.
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