News Detail
Class of 2021 Completes Annual Burch Trip
At the beginning of each academic year, the Freshman class participates in the Burch Outdoor Program.
The Class of 2021 embarked on the 20th annual Burch Outdoor Program at the end of September. The students and a brave group of 12 faculty members departed from campus on Saturday, September 24, to backpack, hike, camp, and rock climb along the Appalachian Trail in Maryland and southern Pennsylvania.
The beautiful weather kept spirits up as the students bonded over shared life experiences, learned about teamwork and leadership through group initiatives, and built friendships as they moved down the trail. When they returned to campus the following Wednesday night, the smiles, hugs, and stories filled the air at the welcome back party thrown by the seniors at Stewart Student Center.
Outward Bound Baltimore Chesapeke Bay posted some amazing pictures of the journey on their Facebook page.
"A longitudinal study created by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health determined that Peer Leadership Expeditions improve adolescents’ social and emotional skill development," a follow-up from the group states. "Episcopal students completed the 19 question survey designed as part of the Johns Hopkins study; once before their Peer Leadership Expedition and once after. The survey assesses expedition outcomes by measuring change in each student’s socio-emotional skill set, specifically: conflict management, emotional self-efficacy, grit/resilience, and problem solving."
The results -- which are available in the slideshow included here -- indicate that a vast majority of the participants believed they learned important lessons from the experience and improved in all socio-emotional skill sets about which they were asked.
The beautiful weather kept spirits up as the students bonded over shared life experiences, learned about teamwork and leadership through group initiatives, and built friendships as they moved down the trail. When they returned to campus the following Wednesday night, the smiles, hugs, and stories filled the air at the welcome back party thrown by the seniors at Stewart Student Center.
Outward Bound Baltimore Chesapeke Bay posted some amazing pictures of the journey on their Facebook page.
"A longitudinal study created by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health determined that Peer Leadership Expeditions improve adolescents’ social and emotional skill development," a follow-up from the group states. "Episcopal students completed the 19 question survey designed as part of the Johns Hopkins study; once before their Peer Leadership Expedition and once after. The survey assesses expedition outcomes by measuring change in each student’s socio-emotional skill set, specifically: conflict management, emotional self-efficacy, grit/resilience, and problem solving."
The results -- which are available in the slideshow included here -- indicate that a vast majority of the participants believed they learned important lessons from the experience and improved in all socio-emotional skill sets about which they were asked.
