Outdoor Action Program at Princeton

The Class of 1972 Leads the Class of 2017 through the Wilderness

The Outdoor Action Program at Princeton is a pioneering program that offers experiential education and leadership training principally through outdoor recreation activities. The program was established in 1979 and has developed a reputation and constituency for the success of what it calls the "Frosh Trip,” a voluntary program where incoming freshman arrive early on campus before departing on a five-day outdoor adventure. Trips depart to locations from Virginia to New Hampshire.  In 2013, which is the 40^th Frosh Trip, the Class of 2017 had 700 class members participate in OA Trips.  In conjunction with the trips, OA provides the thorough leadership training for future OA trip leaders, who are usually students who experienced OA as freshman members of their Frosh Trip.  The training involves First Responder Training, and coaching in group dynamics, outdoor navigation and comping skills as well as a thorough introduction to team building. Again, the focus of the training is to provide the incoming freshman with a safe outing that sets their expectations for their Princeton Experience. The program’s long time and only director is Rick Curtis who has developed the leadership training curricula as well as the logistics mastery necessary to route and coordinate the trips.

Class of 72 participants in this year's OA are Andy Packer, Ralph Bulle, Merc Morris, Daryl English, Tom Jones and Diana Foster.

From L-R in the back row, we have: Tom George '17, Nathan Park '17, Jake Luttinger '17, Briana Payton '17, Andy Packer '72, Crystal Yao '17, Sunny Siddique '17, Annie Lovett '17, and Emma Wingreen '17.  In the front we have leaders Laura Hildebrand '14 and Jay Dessy '16.

Ralph Bulle Group

Front Row: Catherine Hua '17, Ellie Vera '17, Sam Ban '17, Katherine Lee '17

Back Row: Christopher Goodnow '14, Alicia Lamb '17, Ruben Aknin '17, Ben Wolfson '17, Matthew Silberman '17, Michelle Navis '17, Blake Lawson '17, Ralph Bulle ‘72

Merc Morris, Daryl English Group

Front row: Peppar Cyr ('15), Durva Trivedi

Back row: Annie Lu, Mike Torre, Marsha Zhang, Janice Sung, Ji Won Shin, Sewheat Haile, Emile Oshima,

Payam Paysepar ('14), Clement Lee, Isao Anzai

Standing: Daryl English (’72), Merc Morris (’72)

Diana Foster-Tom Jones Group

Front row: Diana Foster, Ning Loh, Kate Ju, Shaina Watrous, Sharon Deng, Tiara Lawson
Back row: Tom Jones, Joseph Bolling, David Abugaber, Phil Etter, Daniel Chen, Chris Habermann