On November 12th and 13th, the graduating DeMatha Catholic High School class of 2024 took their final class retreat. They visited Sandy Hill Camp and Retreat Center in North East, Maryland. During the retreat, the students stayed in cabins without their phones or technology and were encouraged to bond with their classmates through various activities.

Senior William Walker expressed his enjoyment of the camp, stating that “overall” he “liked the retreat.” Although he was a fan of the retreat, one blemish Walker had was the lack of electronics.  Walker said the “enjoyed” the concept of no-electronics, However, the exercise of that rule allowed for no one to be able to “tell the time.”

To pass time at the camp, Walker said they did “a lot of sports activities,” such as  “gaga ball, basketball, and football.” Another thing they did was an activity called “the quantum leap.” This leap, as described by Walker, was a task at which the seniors had to “to climb up a building” and then “jump off of it.” When describing what the Quantum Leap was like, Walker stated that it was “really scary at the top,” However all-in-all it was “really fun.”

On the non-physical side of the activities that our seniors completed, Walker said, “We received letters from our family members about things we are supposed to keep for a lifetime, and we had a couple of guest speakers that talked baseball with us.” The letters from the family members were notes from all the “important people,” in each senior’s lives, intended to offer “wisdom and life advice.” Walker said that he received multiple letters from multiple people he “didn’t expect,” and stated the experience as a whole was “heartwarming.” The guess speakers consisted of a “pastor” and a “DeMatha teacher” talking about their life experiences and their “quest to find happiness.” Walker said that he found their experiences as “saddening” yet “persevering” as they endured several struggles in order to become the people they are today.

Lastly, When asked about the sleeping arrangements during the retreat, Walker stated that the rooms were “pretty cool” due to the “adequate heaters” and the “comfortable mattresses.” In every room, There were 6-7 bunk beds that were able to fit about 12-13 people per room. In Walker’s own room, he said that he was with  “most of [his] friends,” and they played games such as “uno” and “spoon.” when thinking back on it, Walker stated that it was a “fun night.”

The 2024 senior retreat was a massive success that Walker and many other seniors enjoyed whole-heartedly. With all the joy and mental affirmation received at the retreat, these seniors will remember this retreat for a very long time.