Pomona College recently hosted its annual Orientation Adventure program, welcoming over four hundred incoming students into shared community-building activities across Southern California before the academic term officially commenced. Operating as a tradition since 1995, the three-day program is integrated directly into the orientation schedule so that all first-year and transfer students can take part without any scheduling conflicts, and it is provided completely free of charge. Students can apply Ivy League strategies or similar preparatory methods to approach college life, but programs like this one help ease the actual transition. Josh Eisenberg, who serves as associate dean of students and dean of campus life, noted that the initiative gives new learners a chance to connect through diverse, casual experiences both on and off campus, ensuring friendships form naturally by the time the program concludes.

Participants this year selected from a total of thirteen distinct experiences, which ranged from exploring local dining and Los Angeles food scenes to tackling outdoor peaks and oceans. For instance, Mason Montjoy, arriving from Bethesda, Maryland, tried surfing for the very first time at San Onofre State Beach, located roughly an hour from the campus. He mentioned that learning to surf felt essential given his new California residency. Meanwhile, in the San Bernardino Mountains, Moorea Friedmann from New York City tackled rock climbing, describing the thrill of trusting a peer with a safety rope. Eliza Gayer, a classmate hailing from Durham, North Carolina, highlighted how the group shared laughs together even when facing challenges or failing during these outdoor tests.

Other students engaged in different tracks, such as the Farm and Fish adventure. Carter Leung, who traveled thousands of miles from Hong Kong, bonded with roommate and peer Lucas Zhang from Shanghai while touring the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and visiting the college’s organic farm. Zhang noted that he hoped to pick up useful skills at Pomona to eventually assist with his grandfather’s farm back home. On another track called Quintessential L.A., Dominick Catalano, a local student from Corona, California, guided international peers from countries like Rwanda, Korea, and England through sights he cherished. Catalano ended up relaxing under a pop-up tent near the Santa Monica Pier alongside Daniel Trostle, a Seattle native who happens to play alongside him as an offensive lineman protecting Catalano on the Pomona-Pitzer football squad.

Additional groups pursued creative or civic engagement tracks. Geyci Laura Paredes, born in Peru and raised in San Diego, joined the KSPC Multimedia adventure, riding the Metrolink train into downtown Los Angeles and collaborating on a short film alongside two other peers who shared her artistic passions. Other participants chose the Community Partnerships and Service adventure. On the first morning, these students visited Pilgrim Place, a nearby retirement community with ties to Pomona College stretching back over a century, where they helped sort thousands of used books. The following day, the group volunteered at a local food bank. Saleh Ibrahim, traveling from Portland, Oregon, shared that handing out fresh produce allowed him to connect with others who shared his service mindset and made him feel genuinely integrated into the broader local community.

Upper-level students also returned to guide the incoming cohorts, experiencing the event from a different perspective. Liam Bayer, a rising senior who participated in a service-focused track three years prior, stepped up as a leader for the Farm and Fish adventure, noting a strong sense of nostalgia. Similarly, Isha Raheja, who led the surfing group, described the atmosphere as magical, explaining that participants were remarkably outgoing, eager to bond, and ready to assist with daily tasks from the very beginning. Readers seeking more details or checking updates can visit the official portal for further information regarding student life and college initiatives.

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