EPIC Experiences

Orientation Experience Descriptions – Fall 2023

There will be no additional cost for any experience and all materials will be provided.  

RITU@L: The well-established RITU@L program (Roadmap of Intentional Practices for Traversing the Unknown @ Lawrence) provides a space to help your transition to LU feel safe, gentle, and curious. Join us to explore the ways in which simple practices here at Lawrence (like journaling, meditation, cooking, music making, painting, walks by the river, and more) can help you balance your life at Lawrence. Learning to transform ordinary habits and routines into intentional practices will help you to feel in control of your days, minimize stress, and find pockets of peace even in the busiest of times. (All students are welcome.) 

Outdoor Recess: Learn the ins and outs of two of the fastest growing outdoor games: Pickleball and Kuub. During this experience you’ll learn the rules, strategy, practice, play and complete in both Pickleball and Kuub. You are sure to be an intramural star after this! (All students are welcome. No previous experience or knowledge required. Will required physical movements and being outdoors.) 

Craft, Create, Connect! Get your craft on! Learn a new creative skill or practice one you already have while meeting other Lawrentians. Crafts explored will include knitting, crow journaling, needle felting, and sewing mini felt creatures. (All skill levels are welcome. No previous experience or knowledge required.) 

Make Museums Your Thing: There’s so much to look at in museums, they can seem overwhelming. But you can make a trip to a museum fun and meaningful for you! We'll visit the Trout Museum, the Paine Art Center, and Gardens (in nearby Oshkosh) to look at artworks and historical objects, try out interesting ways to engage with exhibitions, and meet with staff to hear what it’s like to work in a museum. The second day we’ll go “behind the scenes” in the Wriston Art Galleries, see an in-progress exhibition installation, and take a walking tour of public art on campus. (All students are welcome. No previous art experience required.) 

Street Art Squad: Make your mark on campus and paint a mural that overlooks Lawe Street! You will collaboratively create a design ahead of time, and all materials will be provided. You and your peers, along with help from some talented staff members, will paint the wall mural. Later in the term, you will be invited to a paint-and-“sip” reunion celebration. (A passion for art & design and some previous art, design, drawing/pairing experience is highly recommended.) 

STEM all around us.  We want to change the way they look at Math and Science. Join us for on and off campus STEM explorations that are fun and connect you to the history of our community. Exploring how to bronze pennies, to the evolution of the Fox River that runs through campus, to the paper industry in the Fox Valley, and an exploration of caffeine! (All students are welcome. Will involve some short walks near campus.) 

Make Lawrence Your Space- Starting with the Makerspace! Make fun stuff and gain useful skills in the makerspace! In this experience, you'll learn how to use the laser cutter, embroidery machine, 3D printers, sewing machine, and vinyl cutter as well as learn how to solder! Several fun projects have been planned to teach you how to use this awesome campus resource. (All students are welcome. No previous experience or knowledge required.) 

Bakes & Cakes: Explore Appleton bakeries! We will visit and sample treats from some of our favorite bakeries in Fox Valley. We will then have a local baker teach tips and tricks for cupcake making and decorating. We will then have our own Cupcake Wars competition to show off our newly learned tasting, baking, and decorating skills! (All students are welcome. No previous baking skills needed! Gluten sensitive Lawrentians welcome!) 

What's your Wild Idea? How many times have you been asked, "What are you going to do when you get older? What job or career are you going to have?" Answering these types of questions, and thus making these types of decision, can be tough. We want you to have new "tools in your toolbox" for decision-making, no matter how big or small, using design thinking. You'll learn a bit more about yourself, how to embrace your inner WILD ideas, and how to get yourself unstuck when making decisions...like Elsa sings, "Let it go!" Come join us for a fun dive into life design thinking! (All students are welcome.) 

The Art of Appleton Thrift: Sustainability-CHECK. Money Savings-CHECK. Hitting the hot spots around town – CHECK. When you learn the massive benefits of thrifting, and the best places to go on and around campus, you not only get yourself set up for success, but also connect to the Lawrence and Appleton community in a unique way. (All students are welcome.) 

Look Who's Talkin': Communication competence is key to helping us all to achieve and maintain our professional and personal relationships. It is also one of the top skills that employers value. Sharpen your communication, leadership, and collaboration skills during a unique service opportunity that is designed to take you around the diverse Appleton community with other growing student leaders like you. Through discussion and hands –on learning in diverse settings, you will explore the strengths that lie in our differences and how to effectively work, live, play and collaborate with people of all backgrounds! (All students are welcome). 

Up Your Content Creator Game! Today's professionals must combine knowledge and expertise with various communication and promotional tools to sell projects, programs, ideas, and showcase their abilities. This experience will give students an insiders’ look at Lawrence’s communication processes and will include tutorials, shadowing team members, and learning how to create content. Small groups of 2-3 students will receive primers on creating content (e.g., photo, video, social, article), using AI tools, optimizing content for search engines, finding training on creator tools, and tracking performance. (All students are welcome. No previous experience or knowledge required.) 

Well-Being: Beyond the Buzzword! You probably already know well-being is fundamental to our overall health and happiness, but did you know it also enables us to overcome difficulties and reach our goals?  Join us as we work as a group to move beyond the buzzword, make connections to ourselves and each other, and work on a plan to maintain well-being through the coming academic year.  We will combine on-campus activities with a field trip to a local Wetland Preserve, and you will leave the experience with a concrete plan for a more satisfying first year! (All students are welcome). 

Creative Sampler: Ready to throw your creative hat in the ring? The Creative Sampler is just the opportunity. This session is open to all students willing to take creative risks and step outside their comfort zone. Learn to play the Swiss Alphorn, gain insight into writing song lyrics, work on audition and improv strategies, and tune into your bodily self by moving your body through space and accessing creativity through embodied practices. You'll also actively engage in the Alexander Technique which is a way of relaxation that helps you identify and lose harmful habits that have built up from stress and overuse. This is for anyone - across the College or Conservatory. (All students are welcome. No previous music/performance experience required). 

Cultural Explorations Around the Fox Valley: Take a trip and travel throughout the Fox Valley to some of the culturally enriched grocery stores and oriental food markets. Students will learn how to make authentic Latinx delicacies to enjoy. Students will also participate in a friendly beginner beading workshop with an Indigenous artist personalizing their own beaded keychain while learning the unique stories, history, and practices of Native and Two-Spirit peoples. (All students are welcome. No previous beading or cooking experience required.) 

Math, Mind, and Manifolds: Dimension in Math and Physics: In all realms of science, the idea of dimension is incredibly important. But you probably never learned it in school! Do you know an example of an 18-dimensional space? What’s it like to move through 5-dimensional space? In this experience, we will learn about higher dimensions in math and science, while wandering around the 3-dimensional spaces on campus and nearby off-campus. Exploring, we will look for nice places to study, walk, or relax. By the end, you will feel familiar with the 3-dimensional space nearby campus, and also with higher-dimensional spaces occurring in nature. (All students are welcome. No previous math or physics experience needed.) 

*Connect & Serve in the Fox Cities: Volunteering is an important part of the college experience. It can provide a sense of belonging to students as well as opportunities to engage with the community and gain skills for the workforce. The Center for Community Engagement and Social Change (CCE) will provide an opportunity to connect you with community organizations in the area to learn about what volunteering can look like, how it benefits the community, and how it can benefit Lawrence students. (All students are welcome.) 

*Land & Sea Adventures: Join us for an outdoor adventure that is sure to be a great time! This will include a bike tour of Appleton, a trip to High Cliff State Park with hiking, geocaching, team building activities, and other fun by Lake Winnebago. We'll wrap up the experience with a kayak trip down the Fox River. (You must be able to participate in a short, easy hike, swim/tread water, and ride a bike to fully participate in this experience.)  

*It's All Fun and Games in the Fox Valley: Our group will spend some time on campus learning a variety of games and then take some time to travel off campus to visit local board game shops and solve their way through an escape room. (All students are welcome.) 

* Knot a Frayed Adventure Course: Imagine being blindfolded and silenced, yet still expected to express yourself. Now imagine that you must do this with a stranger that you barely know. While this may seem terrifying, working with a team to navigate through a ropes-course provides significant opportunities for growth. Consisting of high and low elements, you and your team will work through on-ground and above-ground challenges that may seem insurmountable but elevate you to apply experiential leadership to the classroom and beyond! (This experience will involve some outdoor activities with physical and height components.) 

*Fox Cities FUNdays: New to the Fox Cities? Looking for fun things to do with friends? This experience will take you on a tour of local fun experiences you can do during your time at Lawrence University. Check out a local Escape Room, Axe Throwing, Badger Sports Park, mini-bowling, laser tag, and mini-golf (putt-putt). It is sure to be a good time to feed your social and competitive spirit. (All students are welcome). 

*Multiple sections of these experiences may run.