#FunFriday Final day! ( Insert sad face here)

Bystander Intervention training at the UT

Wow, we can't believe this week is over already! Today we spent the earlier part of the morning at the University of Tennessee participating in the Bystander Intervention Workshop, facilitated by the Health and Wellness Center. Our facilitator, Billie, was very engaging and excited to teach us how to become active bystanders. For those that don't know what a Bystander Intervention is, essentially it educates us on how to recognize red flags and how to appropriately intervene so as to prevent a problematic situation from unfolding. After this lovely experience, we were given free t-shirts, which was the cherry on top!


Next on our journey, we embarked on a trip to the Smoky Mountains! We were impressed by the scenic view on our drive, so we were certainly excited about the hike ahead. We parked our vehicles at Cades Cove and trekked 5 miles (roundtrip) on the Abram Falls trail, which was a moderately difficult trail. While on our hike, we were able to enjoy the nature around us, as well as reflect on our week. We struggled walking uphill, traversed through tree roots, rocks, and mud -- with the ultimate goal of reaching the waterfall!

This view is everything!

The struggle was worth this view!!

Emilie and our fabulous Staff Advisor, Mika! 

<3

All in all, it was a great way to end our week of teamwork!

Lastly, we spent our final gathering as a group at Tupelo Honey -- a restaurant located in downtown Knoxville. This restaurant specializes in southern-style cuisine, which was a type of food that we were craving all week. The best part is that Tupelo Honey was able to accommodate the various dietary needs of our entire group. The food exceeded our expectations, and the fellowship was enjoyed by all!

The celebration dinner at Tupelo Honey was delicious :)

Overall, the day was everything we had hoped for, but undeniably bittersweet. Yet, during reflection, we ensured that we would continue to stay connected once we returned to campus; and most importantly, we vowed to make change within our communities and strive to become active citizens, as it relates to the issue of domestic/relationship violence.

Thanks for reading!
~Mika and Emilio