Trusting someone is difficult. Trusting someone you just met is even harder. That is exactly what the students in the “Scots Science Scholars” had to do on their first official day at Maryville College. We joined Mountain Challenge in the College Woods for some team-building activities. From being lifted through a rope web to the whole group being blindfolded and led by leaders that could not communicate with them, the scholars had to give up control to their group of peers

The group had to utilize skills like  communication, teamwork, and trust in order to complete the task . “Communication was difficult because while we couldn’t see, our leaders could not talk to us. So we had to develop a system to travel from point A to point B”, said Thomas Moore, a member of the “Scots Science Scholars”. Another scholar, Jamel Foster, said, “For a group that had just met the teamwork was great. We all did our part and it was like we had been working together for a while.”

The group did not let each other down. All the objectives were completed and the group could see again! At the end of this exercise we had developed a bond amongst ourselves. We are the first group in the “Scots Science Scholars” and a part of the largest incoming freshman class in Maryville College history. We will forever remember this experience and appreciate it as we become a part of the Maryville College community.

Posted by Preston Murphy, Scots Science Scholar,  Maryville College Class of 2017