The spring semester is quickly coming to an end and with only final grades left to worry about, students are counting down the days until it’s finally summer.
Some students are taking this time to travel and relax, while others are continuing their education or working one or more jobs.
Brendan Bullock, a freshman engineering majors who live out-of-state, is spending their summers working, completing school work, and applying for scholarships.
“Summer’s a good time to relax, but also to work to get money for the next year and do some accessory schoolwork,” Bullock said.
Freshman undecided major Quinn Lugenbeel lives about 30 minutes from campus and will also be spending her summer taking classes at her community college and working for a service job where she is both a waitress and cuts seafood. She decided to take some General Education courses over the summer so her course load would be lighter for the fall semester. However, Lugenbeel will also be taking some time to relax with her family.
“This summer I will be starting with a nice family vacation to Greece,” Lugenbeel said.
Lugenbeel is going to Athens, as well as a few small islands, for 10 days. She is going because her dad has a work trip, but her family decided to tag along.
“We wanted to eat good food, experience the culture and see the sights,” Lugenbeel said.
Freshman Engineering major Tadhg Martinez is planning tospend his summer working at a summer camp and working out in his free time.
“I want to make time to hang out with friends, spend time with my dog and catch up on some much needed sleep,” Martinez said.
While some professors also have the luxury of getting a summer break, many of them actually continue to teach, work somewhere else, or participate in research.
This is the case with Dr. Sarah Tahamont, who said that while she wishes she could relax, she is participating in two big research projects instead. The first project she’s involved with is a field experiment that is in its data collection phase. She will be working with her colleages to collect data about incarceration.
The second project is about the Last Mile, an organization that teaches inmates how to code in prison. She is working with the organization to investigate the benefits of teaching code in prison and whether it has positive long-term effects. She is investigating the future prospects of the organization as well, studying if knowing computer code is beneficial to keeping current inmates out of prison when they are eventually released. Tahamont explained that she likes to do it because it’s good for building relationships and allows her to get a deeper understanding of the data.
Aside from working on her projects, Tahamont is vacationing with her family at the Jersey Shore, and she plans to get back on her Peloton whenever she is free.
No matter what your plans are for this summer, make sure that you can take time away from school to regroup and rest so that you return for the fall semester ready to get back to work!