Our annual pharmacy camp was held from Tuesday 11th February to Thursday 13th February at the Waiora Scout Camp. We welcomed 60 new second years and had 35 third- and fourth-year pharmacy students as camp helpers.
The new students were greeted on the lawn of the Otago Museum on Tuesday afternoon by our executive team and helpers. Upon boarding the bus, the students were divided into six coloured teams and had their first chance to meet their new teammates whom they would soon get to know a lot better through games, team activities, and challenges. Once the students arrived at the campgrounds, they dug into their first meal which was prepped and ready by some of our wonderful helpers. After lunch, the eager P2’s dove into their teams and participated in several ice breaker games and team-building exercises.
The 6 teams were to participate in a varying number of challenges and activities ranging between sports to acting, and intellect. Our revue representative, Eve Bartholomew came up with 6 skit topics that were picked out of a hat by a member of each team which was later to be practiced and showcased. The first team challenge popped off with the balloon game, followed by an egg toss competition, and finally a quiz night after tea! We were excited to see the students were quickly forming new friendships.
The next morning greeted us with another stunner of a day which was the perfect weather for SPORTS DAY! The afternoon consisted of the 6 teams facing each other off in a few sports games to win the most points. There was Volleyball, Touch Rugby, and Cricket, tiebreakers were settled with relay sprints. We also tested each teams’ strength; Tug of War was the obvious game of choice. After lunch, the campers were re-energized and enthusiastic to carry on with the competition, next on the agenda was skit practicing.
Everyone gathered in the hall and the night had just begun, each team performed their acts ranging from raps battles, to singing, and impeccable acting which showed us that the P2s had some real talent. The hall was filled with laughter and applauds, and everyone had done an outstanding job the judges had a hard time making a unanimous decision. The night was a hit, which we all celebrated with a pizza night!
We finished the night off with a disco party including a DJ and late-night snacks, all the teams came together, danced and sang the night away.
Huge credit to Isabella Mcloughlin and the executive team for organizing such a successful camp!
New Zealand Association of Pharmacy Students Otago 