Student outdoor enthusiasts will have to adjust to more than just the dip in temperatures this semester.
UF's Travel and Recreation Program, known as TRiP, has made the transition from a student-run organization to an employing program for the first time.
TRiP plans and takes students on outdoor leisure and adventure excursions.
Program coordinator Jackie Matthews said the changes will make trips cheaper for students, create more leadership and professional development opportunities for members.
The organization will also begin to pay trip leaders and other staff.
"I'm extremely excited about it," Matthews said.
The group was generating almost all of its own funding before the changes were made, but it is now financially supported by the Department of Student Activities and Involvement, she said.
The structural changes go into effect this semester, she said. The organization is reviewing applications for new leaders for the spring.
Previously, TRiP members would meet and vote on trips and the running of the organization itself. Although it was ideally democratic, this style proved difficult, Matthews said.
"It lacked a lot of structure that could have really provided a good foundation for them to move forward," Matthews said. "It was eventually just going to crumble on itself."
Now, Matthews has a group of five managers under her who will help plan trips and work with the lead guides, assistant leaders and leaders-in-training.
Many of the members were surprised and concerned when Matthews announced the changes midway through the fall, said TRiP member and geomatics junior Taylor Henninge.
"We have a culture in this program," Henninge said, "and I think a lot of people were just scared of losing that culture."
He and fellow member Kirsten Montanari, a geography and anthropology senior, said although they were nervous about the changes at first, the soul of the organization is still the same.
However, Montanari said she remains lukewarm toward her new paycheck.
"I don't think anybody cares about that at all," she said. "I can tell you positively that no one wanted to ever get paid for this."
TRiP leaders J.T. Madigan, a 21-year-old marketing junior, and Sami Kattan, a 22-year-old anthropology senior, both work at the Outfitter on the ground floor of the Reitz Union.
