At the dining hall, everyone was eating their lunch all having their own conversations. Zoey being the only female was sitting on the end when one of the team members came up and introduced himself and asked if he could join her.
"I'm Bryan. I am a second-semester freshman, so I am told and hoping to be a goalie. Do you mind if I join you?"
"Sure. Hi, I'm Zoey. I am also as I have been told, a second-semester freshman. Guess we must have studied too much in high school or something to get that title." They both laughed. Bryan then asks, "Have we met before because you look so familiar?" Zoey pauses for a moment, "You look familiar as well, but I don't think so. I have lived a pretty boring existence right here, so unless you lived here before college then it is very doubtful."
Just then, Coach stood up and said, "This afternoon we are going to have some fun and do a little team building. This week in the afternoon each day we will do some form of activity to build strength as a team. We need to know we can all count on each other as a team but also as a family. We need to learn communication as well as respect. To begin our team building, we will have a scavenger hunt. I have paired you each in teams of two. You will not need an automobile for this scavenger hunt as everything you will be able to find with the campus or within a 2-mile walk. As you complete each clue, the information for the next clue will send you searching for the next one. Some of these will require some communication with people in the community who are donors to our programs and who enjoy having visits from some of our young people. The final clue will provide you with the time and location of the final plan for the evening. Remember this is about communication and working as a team. It is not a competition or a race as you have plenty of time. You can use this time to talk and get to know your teammate, their major, where they are from, their position on the field, or anything additional. The coach then laughs, yes, there may be a quiz later. At least one of you will need a cell phone as you will need a picture at each location to send to me. Have fun with this. I have put a number in this bag. Everyone draws a number. When you are done, pair off with the person who shares the same number, and hey, no trading. There will be plenty of time during these activities to be paired with your buddy or pal, but this is to learn about someone new.
Everyone paired off, in groups of 2 based on their number. Zoey was a 4 and as she looked for her partner for the scavenger hunt, she was surprised to find it was Bryan who she had just met at lunch. She wasn't sure why Coach felt she should participate, but he said it was so the team knew they could also count on her.
Bryan walks over and leans into Zoey and says, "So we meet again." Zoey laughs and says, "Yep so it seems."
Coach handed everyone their first clue. No first clue was the same so everyone was not on top of each other. The coach said, "Good luck, be safe, and learn something."
The pairs set off to learn something but to also complete each task. Coach told us some of these tasks we may need to reach out to a lifeline which is a donor for help and some, we may not. Each team had to use one lifeline and one college resource.
Zoey and Bryan examined their first clue.
"I am a local knowledge base of anything college-related. I was the first graduate in my family at the time, an all-women's college with only one building and no dorms. I love history, genealogy, and my partner in crime Zeus who helps me successfully maneuver around campus and the community.
Zoey said, "If she is maneuvering on campus, she must be a professor or someone on staff." Bryan then remembered "When I came for a campus tour, I was in the building at the bottom of campus and there was a woman who was eating lunch at a picnic table and feeding a dog. I bet she is who we are looking for."
Zoey replied, "So then we need to go to the historic building and see if we can see and meet her and Zeus."
As they arrived at the building, they noticed an older woman sitting and she was at the picnic table again. Bryan looks at Zoey and says, "That is the lady I was telling you about."
