The15th Annual Leadership Retreat Teamwork '97 gives students who are, or want to get involved in campus organizations thhe opportunity to build stronger ties among fellow students.
Teamwork is a yearly retreat that takes place in the San Bernardino mountains at Grace Valley Ranch and is open to all Cal State Long Beach students.
The three day weekend retreat, that starts Friday and goes through Sunday, is sponsored by such organizations such as Associated Students Inc., Forty-Niner Shops Inc., Student Life and Development and CSULB.
Jorge Nin, a counselor at Educational Equity Services and one of the professional staff members for teamwork, has been involved for the past eight years.
Since 1987, Nin has been a student organizer, moved up to a graduate organizer and since then has become a professional staff member.
Nin said Teamwork used to be for organization leaders only, to assist in budgeting, marketing strategies and fundraising planning. After time passed, regular members starting attending and then students who were not part of any organizations became interested.
"The original plan was for student leaders to progress," Nin said. "Then we noticed regular students attending and who's to say that their not going to be future leaders."
Nin says that Teamwork '97 has had an overwhelming amount of interest. The maximum capacity is 100 and as of now, there are 30 students on the waiting list. As students drop out, spaces are allocated to students from the waiting list.
Teamwork has a new motto this year, "Finding Unity in Community."
The manner in which they try to achieve unity is through the many workshops, team building exercises and ice breakers planned throughout the weekend.
On one of the evenings the A.S.I Executive Officers will lead a "Fireside Chat" focusing on such issues as how to utilize A.S.I. funds.
Phillip Humphreys, a counselor for Educational Opportunity Program and a Teamwork staff member is a new-comer to the event but has the same positive outlook for the students.
"This is a chance for students to network," Humphreys said. "Student leaders can collaborate information with each other and further develop their skills."
For more information one may call (562)985-4181 or visit them at the USU-203.