Kabobs and Kayaking on the Connecticut River

To welcome freshmen to Thomas Aquinas College, New England, the junior class planned a busy day of activities down at the Connecticut River for last Saturday’s Junior-Freshman River Day.

After lunch, freshmen and juniors gathered to meet the bus, dressed in river-ready apparel. The day was beautifully sunny and the setting lovely; the trees across the river were just starting to turn red and orange, but the weather was still warm enough to make swimming enjoyable. 

As soon as the students arrived at the river, they unloaded kayaks, carried grills down to the picnic tables, and set up a volleyball net by the bank. Music played from a speaker as they took to the boats and the water. “It’s such a blast getting to know the freshmen better like this,” remarked Sebastiano Egan (NE’27). “I love the addition of this class’s spirit to the TAC community.”

The afternoon flew by as students spent their time swimming and socializing, playing and paddling. The two classes battled in competitive games of soccer and spike ball, and knots of students could be found at picnic tables, wrapped in beach towels and visiting over cold sodas. A laughing, chattering group clustered around the grills as dinnertime approached, waiting in line for hot shish-kabobs and potato chips.

As the afternoon wore into evening and the sun began to set slowly over the river, students sang along to the music and began to swing dance on the level bank until it grew dark. Finally, after a long day, they packed up and loaded everything into the bus and headed back to campus to enjoy a bonfire outside of St. Frassati Student Center. “We had really great food and good times,” said Fiona McNeil (NE’29). “I loved getting to know the juniors better in such a wholesome, bonding way!”

More River Day photos …

Tap on the right-center edge of the image to scroll through the album.