Seahawks explore Rhode Island with Compass Summer

By Emily Winslow

Sailing around Newport Harbor, biking Block Island and kayaking in Wickford, R.I., add to the allure of the elusive Newport summer that many vacationers spend months planning. For women's basketball rising juniors: Jordan Furlong, Anna Grace Hjerpe, Sabrina Lawless, Deanna Linscott, Colleen Ohrtman and Maeve Tullson, who participated in Explore Wild Rhode Island, a Compass Summer program, these activities were part of a unique experiential learning class offered exclusively to Salve Regina University students.  

Salve Compass encourages students to explore their talents through hands-on experiences in and around the Rhode Island community. Compass Summer is designed to provide short-term, project-based experiences that help students build important skill sets in a team setting, regardless of their desired career path. The women's basketball group went to a Compass Summer informational meeting and decided to apply.

"We were super close going into it but strengthening our friendships with each other was super important," shared Hjerpe, a business administration major. "We met a lot of people at Salve that I don't think we would have gotten the opportunity to meet if we hadn't done Compass Summer. It was awesome how much the whole group got along. We really enjoyed spending time and doing these activities with each other."  

Compass Summer programs are first come, first served, but students are required to submit a short written statement discussing their interest in the opportunity and how it would benefit their education.  

"It's so nice to do a different thing outside of basketball and get to know each other outside of that," said Ohrtman, an environmental studies major. "It's super important to have a good relationship with your teammates. It fosters a good culture with the team. It's been so nice that we've gotten so close over the past few years. This program also gave us some ideas for team bonding activities."  

Furlong, Hjerpe, Lawless, Linscott, Ohrtman and Tullson partook in kayaking, biking Block Island, sailing on a tall ship in Newport Harbor, hiking locally and hiking Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. Explore Wild Rhode Island was planned and led by Dr. Jameson Chace, professor and chair of the Department of Cultural, Environmental and Global Studies, who is a vocal advocate for all Compass Summer offerings and is one of the program's best partners.

Hiking Mount Monadnock was one of the more challenging experiences in the program for the group, because it was rainy and wet. But overall, the experience seemed to bring the students together.  

"My favorite was Mount Monadnock," said Linscott, a nursing major. "Me and a few of my other teammates had done it a few weeks before. It was a cool experience to do with other people and to have a team goal for. Proving to yourself that you could do it was really great and super encouraging. The journey to the top is what made it so fun. It sounds cheesy but it's true."  

For the six women's basketball players, doing something outside of practice was a mental refreshment from the demands of the school year. It also opened up new learning opportunities and perspectives.  

"We're all super close to each other, and some of us are roommates, so we do a lot together anyways," mentioned Lawless, a history major. "We all have different majors, but to find something that we all enjoy together was definitely fun. We have the same routine usually—go to classes and basketball practice, get to sleep as early as we can—so to get to have this opportunity outside of that was really awesome."  

For both student-athletes and the student body as a whole, the Compass program offers a space for students in different areas of study to come together and learn in a new way.

"Looking back on the program, I will remember meeting new people," said Furlong, a psychology major. "I loved how a lot of us were different majors and we still came together to find common ground on how we can think about the environment and have fun together. That was a really cool aspect that I won't forget."  

Cori Hughes, head coach of the women’s basketball team, finds it encouraging that members of the team took advantage of the Compass program as a way to develop well-rounded individuals and network off the court.  

"Obviously, dedication to their sport is important, but so are experiences beyond the court," said Hughes. "I am pleased that these athletes chose to explore their more holistic identities through the Compass Summer program. It will only serve to make them more resilient, help avoid burnout and improve their physical and mental well-being."

Jennifer Jensen, associate director of the Salve Compass program, added, "Compass Summer opportunities are great for student-athletes as it gives them a unique out-of-classroom experience that they might not have otherwise since their sport may take up a lot of their time. Some athletes are unable to study abroad, so Compass Summer gives them a chance to have that experiential learning opportunity but in a shorter amount of time without taking time from their sport."  

Salve Regina's mission is heavily focused on providing a liberal arts education to encourage students to develop their abilities for thinking clearly and creatively. Salve Compass cultivates students' capacity for original, innovative thinking for the entire student body.  

"All students should take advantage of Salve Compass because it's a unique experience," said Tullson. "Even if you don't have friends doing it with you it's a great way to meet people and get away from strict academics for a while. It's a week of fun and being outside. You'll learn different things that maybe you wouldn't in the classroom. I would have never had that experience if I didn't do Compass Summer."