Henry Strobel Retreat ushers in Class of 2023
McGovern Medical School officially welcomed the Class of 2023 with the 43rdAnnual Henry Strobel Retreat on Aug. 9-10 at Camp Allen in Navasota, Texas.
As is tradition, MS2s from the Class of 2022 transformed camp into the theme for retreat, which was a throwback to the 90s. Students hopped into their tie-dye colored time machines and traveled back to the world of troll dolls and the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Retreat began with orientation where the Class of 2023 gathered to officially kick off retreat. At orientation, students played the Match Game to find their medical school “soul mates” and heard from faculty and current students about what to expect from orientation and medical school. From there, they split into small groups to mingle with their fellow classmates, current students, faculty, and alumni.
Friendly competition brings out the best in everybody, so the Class of 2023 hit the outdoors for the Retreat Olympics in the afternoon session. Divided into teams based on 90s cartoon characters, students competed in various activities such as tug-of-war, water balloon toss, and a Slip N Slide relay to beat the heat.
After dinner, students returned for skits. Skits teach the entering class about the medical school experience in a funny way, while following the theme for the weekend and even including special cameos from a few of the professors. Following skits, the students donned their best 90s costumes and mingled with fellow classmates, faculty, and alumni for the Friday Night Social.
The Class of 2023 features 240 incoming students with the youngest 20 years old, and the oldest 33. In all, 225 of the students hail from the state of Texas, while 10 additional states are represented among the group. The entering class holds an average MCAT score of 512 and an average grade point average of 3.85.
Henry Strobel, PhD, founded retreat in 1976 after he noticed the first-year class had become disenchanted following a storm that devastated the Texas Medical Center and temporarily delayed the beginning of the school year. Therefore, working with leadership from the second year class, Strobel organized a weekend for students and significant others to leave the hustle and bustle of Houston and the TMC to appreciate the McGovern family and community around them.