Fall break trip let students relax in Colorado

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For a group of students from Memorial Road Church of Christ, fall break meant relaxing in the mountains of Colorado.

Memorial Road took 46 college students to La Veta, Colorado during fall break last week. The trip, built with the sole purpose of relaxation, had no planned activities besides regular meals.

This trip began last year in a town not far from La Veta with about 25 students, but due to an increase in size, the group moved.

“We noticed that college kids always look forward to fall break,” Hudson Hutchinson, Memorial Road’s campus minister said. “It is a breather, just a time of rest and renewal.”

Throughout the school year, Hutchinson said breaks and relaxing are important for students.

“College is a stressful time with a lot of demands mentally and socially,” Hutchinson said. “I think there is a pretty clear example in scripture of resting. You work six days and on the Sabbath you rest, and I think we have forgotten about rest.”

Sophomore Shelby McMillion went on the trip and said she appreciated the ‘weekend Sabbath.’

“I get stressed out, I’m sure everybody else does,” McMillion said. “That was a nice opportunity to relax… it was really uplifting because I was starting to get really stressed before fall break. … It came at a really good time.”

McMillion said the group stayed in a large cabin together.

“It really felt like it was a holiday reunion with your family,” McMillion said. “We had home cooked meals for every meal and watched college football all day on Saturday.”

The cabin, which had cable and space to play games, served as a multi-purpose room as well as a sleeping area.

“We go on hikes, if you want to go,” Hutchinson said. “If you want to stay in and watch a movie, lots of people watched the Harry Potter movies. Some people play a lot of games, like board games and card games. Just hanging out with one another.”

Senior Brad Eckhart, who attended the trip last year and again this year, favored the relaxation of the cabin.

“School can drive you crazy,” Eckhart said. “It’s nice in first semester when you have two breaks to break the semester apart. Sleeping was the best part [of the trip].”

Besides relaxing and sleeping, Eckhart also went on two hikes while in Colorado.

“One hike I went on was really tough, and I was the slowest person there, but when I got to the top it was totally worth it,” Eckhart said.

McMillion participated in going on hikes, playing games, watching football and a multitude of other events on the trip during the break.

“We went to this place called Bear Lake, and we drove up into the mountains where it was covered in snow and we just hiked around it,” McMillion said. “It was like something from the movies, just really beautiful.”

Besides hiking, sleeping and relaxing, the group went with the idea of fellowship in mind, according to Hutchinson.

“I love getting to meet new students and build new relationships,” Hutchinson said. “So there are 46 students who I have a closer relationship to now, and that’s awesome.”

One evening, the group held a devotional outside of their cabin.

“We all brought our sleeping bags out and looked at the stars and reflected and just shared with each other and sang a couple songs,” McMillion said. “It was uplifting and a good reminder to push through the semester, you’re almost there.”

Hutchinson said Memorial Road would continue to offer the Colorado trip, or a fall break trip similar to it, as long as students are still interested in going.

“We want our students to dictate what trips we go on,” Hutchinson said. “We heard a lot of interest in wanting to go back this year, so we just thought we’d do the same trip. In the future, if they want to do something else, we’ll think about that then. But I have a feeling college students will always want to break on fall break.”