Since 1990, members of the junior class have joined in a rite of passage that is distinctly Trinity-Pawling: the “Ropes Course.” Over 2,000 boys have experienced this critical component of T-P’s hallmark curriculum in leadership.
Over several weekends during the spring term, the entire junior class will participate, in groups consisting of approximately fifteen students each. Groups travel to Lakeville, CT, where they engage in a series of physically and mentally challenging activities over two days. Both low and high ropes elements are designed to foster camaraderie and prepare students for leadership positions their senior year.
Low ropes elements on the first day include games, group initiatives, and trust-building activities. On the second day, high ropes challenges take boys twenty-five to thirty feet in the air, where they learn essential skills in communication and problem solving. Each boy is encouraged to participate to the best of his ability and to examine the different forms leadership can take. Over the last twenty-five years, the program has challenged and inspired the rising seniors to accept the responsibility of school leadership and to serve as role models for younger students—with genuine results.
Each group traveling to Lakeville is hand-picked to create a cross section of the student body that would not normally be engaged in activities together. In a recent Chapel Talk, junior Kyu “Paul” Paik of Seoul, South Korea, reflected on the power of this experience, and issued an open invitation to everyone in the chapel:
“Even though there was a foot of snow on the ground, and it snowed more as we slept, I consider this to be the best thing I have ever done at T-P. I made new friends and we realized that our experience at ‘ropes’ should be our experience at T-P every day…I want to transfer this energy into my daily life at T-P. Today I am going to make a table in Scully [Dining Hall] where everyone is welcomed. I am going to sit with someone from my ropes course…Join our table. Get out of your comfort zone. Meet someone new.”