Students break barriers at weekend retreat

By CODY McGEHEE, Ranger Reporter:

Students at Amarillo College attended a leadership retreat Nov. 4 and 5, 2016 at Talon Point. This conference happens once a semester and has started a serious following. This is the fourth time Ryan Penneau, the facilitator for the event, has come to Amarillo College to talk about leadership and how “Energy is Everything.”

 Students were challenged during the two-day event, beginning with finding someone they didn’t know, then learning about the other person in less than three minutes. The students were tested and challenged to understand that this event wasn’t like every other leadership retreat–at many retreats, participants sit and do ice breakers and leave with a lot of energy, but never actually learn how to apply that energy.

“This event was fricking awesome,” Matthew Snyder, an electrical engineering major, said. “I thought Ryan put on an amazing retreat, and I will be leaving learning that everything is bigger than just me.”

“Its hard to just pick one thing that I am taking away from this retreat,” said Tristan Boyles, a criminal justice major. “The most impactful thing is how we treat others.”

Students stepped out of their comfort zones to share their feelings, and took part in an exercise about taking risks by breaking an arrow with their necks.

Alan Gomez, an architect and civil engineering major, said, “I just went all in. Its important to always go all in, and the reason I say that is because when I look back at the things I have done, I feel the things I regret are not the things I did, but the things I didn’t do. And I’m glad to leave without that feeling.”

Students said the the retreat was both physical and emotional, and it required a great deal of thought. Penneau pushed participants to become both better leaders and better people overall.

 Amarillo College Student Government Association provides leadership events all year round. There will be another retreat in the spring.

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