This year’s Fall Retreat was truly an adventure filled with shared exploration, artistic discovery, and collective growth. Scholars traveled to the Marin Headlands, worked on program development, attended a workshop held by Youth Speaks, and experienced the sights and sounds of San Francisco’s artistic locales. Before her departure to Japan, former program manager, Nina Fallenbaum, facilitated the retreat with the assistance of her successor, Daniela Boykin. Although somewhat reluctant to see Nina leave, the Scholars were encouraged by Daniela’s impressive introduction as a program manager. The Fall Retreat allowed scholars to address important issues within TAAP and further develop the program’s effectiveness as an outreach-oriented social network.

One task that the Scholars undertook during the retreat was to create a new Mission Statement that would represent TAAP’s goals. Since the program is designed to develop group cohesion and outreach to students from all over, having a clear objective is critical to TAAP.

Furthermore, the Scholars participated in a workshop redefining the term “family” and discussing how it concerned the program and its members. Moreover, representatives of Youth Speaks, a San Francisco based youth development organization, met with TAAP and discussed the importance of outreach focused on motivating and empowering the urban youth. This program promotes education and awareness through “Spoken Word” performance, a form of self-expression that emphasizes intensity, conviction, and the power of the human voice. TAAP Scholars created and shared their own “Spoken Word” pieces, often drawing upon their own personal experiences, feelings, and emotions; some shouted, whispered, laughed, and even cried, but at the end were all able to truly express themselves.

Scholars also stimulated their artistic sensibilities by visiting San Francisco’s Mission District and the recently renovated de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. From the colossal 3000-year-old Olmec Head to the beautiful murals of Diego Rivera, the students immersed themselves in diverse styles of artistic expression. This experience offered an opportunity for the scholars and staff to intermingle and to become comfortable with one another; I should also mention that TAAP Scholars do not take very long to develop close relationships with each other because they are an intensely interactive group of people.

Most importantly, TAAP is a collection of educated individuals with diverse backgrounds, with each person having a unique story to tell. Consequently, as night fell in the Marin Headlands, everyone gathered around the bonfire to share more about themselves and their personal journeys. Many reflected upon family, friendships, the college lifestyle, and the various hardships they endured to get to Cal; however, a sentiment everyone recognized was the importance of TAAP as a family. The feeling of a common bond and shared experience warmed everyone’s hearts and provided solace for the mind. Looking into the eyes of each scholar, one could see that they were definitely touched by each other’s tales of confronting adversity and overcoming life’s obstacles. Despite these stories of difficult pasts and uncertain futures, there was a sense of collective triumph. The Scholars felt strong, united, and most importantly, felt like successful individuals that were proudly continuing life’s journey as Cal students. Not only had they discovered each other, the had discovered themselves; this year’s Fall Retreat was truly an adventure.