WAFFYS (Wilderness Adventures For First-Year Students) sea kayaking and backpacking expeditions empower incoming students with a positive personal and social transition into college. WAFFYS gives incoming students the opportunity to challenge themselves and grow as individuals through the process of experiential education. Expeditions are structured to require the group to take initiative, make decisions, and be accountable for the results. After teaching the group to competently cook, camp & navigate through the wilderness, our Instructors step back and allow the group to take ownership over their trip and experience the natural consequences of their decisions. The process of making these decisions as a group helps WAFFYS students become invested in the group’s choices, enhances their decision-making ability and develops meaningful peer relationships that transfer into participants’ first year at UNC. By having positive group interactions, students experience an increase in self-confidence and gain a deeper understanding of themselves and the way they relate to others.