Oxford freshman impressed with Leadership Safari

For an incoming freshman, Central Michigan University can be a new world.

Oxford freshman Jessica Pyke knows this first hand.

When Pyke arrived at CMU one week ago, she only knew five people at the school. She had not even met her roommate, whom she found on Facebook.

Oxford freshman Jessica Pyke waits for a teammate to fall into her arms Monday afternoon in the Indoor Athletic Complex. During Leadership Safari, groups did "trust falls" where one member stands on a platform and falls backwards into their group members' arms. (Chris Bacarella/Staff Photographer)

But all this changed after she became a “yellow jacket.”

The yellow jackets was her Leadership Safari team and from last Saturday to Wednesday night, she was one of thousands of incoming freshman who took part in the program’s leadership-building activities.

“I’m definitely glad I got out of the house and did Leadership Safari,” she said.

Her team of a dozen people spent the week involved in many activities including an obstacle course, mock rock and various trust-building activities.

Pyke got more involved than she expected from the program — Leadership Safari starts at 8 a.m. and lasts until 10 p.m.

“Leadership Safari is fun, but long,” she said. “I thought we were just going to have one speaker a day.”

She became fast friends with her team and made many new friends throughout the week.

Holland freshman Raissa Permesang was in Pyke’s team and said the group clicked right away.

“(Leadership Safari) was hard at first because we didn’t know each other, but we hit it off right away,” she said. “Jessica added a lot of humor to the group.”

Troy senior Matt Campbell served as the safari guide for the yellow jackets, and said he was amazed by Pyke’s performance in the group.

Oxford freshman Jessica Pyke plays a team building game to pass the time while waiting for her next Leadership Safari activity to begin Tuesday after lunch. The game is one of many that Safari participants play to pass the time throughout the day. Chris Bacarella/Staff Photographer

“Jessica is doing really well,” he said. “She’s very mature for her age and is also positive and has good things to say during group discussions.”

Now that the program is over, Pyke has a lot to look forward to as an incoming student.

This semester, she will take 14 credits to work toward a sports medicine major.

She also is considering joining a sorority.

Pyke also is getting along with three roommates at Beddow Hall.

“This is a fresh start for all of us,” she said.