Cars packed with excited students slowly made their way up the icy roads to Shaver Lake on Feb. 16 for the semi-annual student leadership retreat. The retreat was staged in order to give leadership students a break from the hustle and bustle they experienced during Night of the Stars and to allow them to get to know each other better.

“Student leadership members invest lots of their time and energy into Night of the Stars,” Chris Schultz, leadership adviser, said. “The retreat is a time for them to just relax and to refresh themselves, and get ready for the rest of the year. Its really a reward for all their hard work.”

Bleak predictions of a snow-less weekend seemed likely to be fulfilled as the class drove to Shaver Lake amidst sunshine and blue skies. However, snow fell from the sky all day on Feb. 17 to the delight of the entire class.

“I was so happy that it snowed over the weekend,” Jennifer Jesser, ’02, said. “I had a blast having snowball fights and playing in the snow. The entire weekend was great and very relaxing after Night of the Stars.”

This was the second retreat for the class. Their first retreat took place a week before school started when journeyed together to Cayucos Beach and Morrow Bay. There, they kayaked, played games, and learned to work together as a team.

Contrarily, the winter retreat was very laid-back in its intentions. The only objective set before the class was to relax and have fun.

“The retreat was a blast,” Lauren Taylor, ’03, said. “Playing hearts with Coach (Schultz) was the highlight of the retreat for me. It was lots of fun bonding with my friends and getting closer to some people I didn’t know very well.”

Many students agree with Taylor about the benefits of the retreat’s fun and slow-pace.

“The retreat was a good time for me to just relax and have fun,” Chris White, ’05, said. “I had a great time playing in the snow and spending 20 hours playing board games.”

Leadership class is one of the most active classes on campus. Besides planning and managing major campus activities such as Homecoming and Night of the Stars, they are also the driving force behind care groups, pep rallies, and chapels.

The next leadership planned activity will be a pep rally on March 15 celebrating the baseball team’s opening game of the season against Fowler.