Fresh Start for Freshmen

Photo: Shana Teig Kantor

“I was really worried about going to a college where I didn’t know anyone. That’s why I attended FreshFest,” says Dana Wellesly-Stein, 20, who participated in Hillel at Binghamton’s first freshmen’s retreat in 2008 and is now co-chair of the event.

FreshFest invites incoming Jewish freshmen and transfer students at Binghamton University to move into their dorm rooms a day early and then head to a nearby Pennsylvania camp for an overnight retreat. There, they meet other students and learn about Jewish life on campus and activities with Hillel at Binghamton, part of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, a beneficiary agency of UJA-Federation. Older students active in Hillel serve as counselors for the event.

There are the usual recreational activities — swimming, Frisbee, basketball, arts and crafts — plus time for prayer or discussions about Jewish identity and spirituality. And since the more than 100 students at FreshFest don’t know one another, there are many icebreakers to help students become more comfortable.

A favorite of Wellesly-Stein’s is one that asks students who they were, who they are, and who they want to be in four years. That reflection “is a nice thing to do when you’re starting a new program,” she says.

Jewish Life

“It’s a great way to get introduced to Jewish community, meet new friends, and connect with older students who already spent time at the university,” Wellesly-Stein adds. “I already had a group of people to be with when college started. I didn’t feel as lost.”

She notes that she met some of her closest friends at school during FreshFest.

And that experience is common.

“A lot of students say they met their best friends at FreshFest,” says Shana Kantor, executive director of Hillel at Binghamton. “And most become involved with something at Hillel after FreshFest.”