What would you do if you didn’t know what time it was? This was the theme of Lasell Says Thank You (LSTY) second annual Timeless Retreat and includes giving up your cellphone for the entire weekend. On Friday Feb. 20, 30 plus students patiently waited in the Lasell Arnow Campus Center with pillows and sleeping bags in hand, ready to jump into a device free weekend. Held at a local church, which is located a mere minute away from the Lasell Arnow Campus Center by foot.
This year the retreat was ran by sophomore named Brianna Wrubleski and junior named Deirdre Duddy-Kennedy, both avid leaders in the Lasell College community. “Both Deirdre and I got a lot out of last year’s retreat and we both had instances this past year that made us realize how precious time is. So we decided to take on the retreat and make sure that more people got the experience that we did,” Wrubelski said It was important to keep the inviting and special essence of the Timeless Retreat alive. This allows for new Lasell students to experience what it means to create true friendships and have a safe environment to share their journeys in life.
LSTY wanted to emphasis the value of spending time with your peers to create a tight knit bond. It is hard to connect with your peers when each of them is consumed with what’s on their cellphones. Even just spending a short weekend strictly with your peers proved to be beneficial as retreat attendee Tisza Ambrose-Greene said, “I realized that I’m not alone in a lot of things that I thought I was alone in and so I need to step out of my comfort zone in order to like really feel alive or to experience life.” Like Greene many retreat attendees found strength in numbers that weekend.
Overall this retreat proved to be wildly successful and every Lasell student, whether you are a brand new freshman or a wise senior should give it a try. A leader on the retreat highly recommends attending the next one, Haleigh West said, “I just think it’s a really good way to connect with people who you wouldn’t normally connect with. You don’t know whose going through a hard time and you share your experiences with those people and you basically are their ally, you are each other’s allies and it’s a really good outlet for that.”
If you would like more information please contact the President Steve Saluti of the LSTY at SSaluti@lasell.edu.
Photo courtesy of Emma Graley, Her Campus Lasell contributing writer