Today: Mar 28, 2024

Students reflect on their days of summer

Jacob WaringOnline Editor

The summer of 2019 has concluded, and all that remains are the memories that new and returning students have created.

One student, sophomore major Emma Sweeney, an environmental systems and sustainability major, spent a good chunk of her summer working on a strawberry and blueberry column.

Some, like sophomore Tyler Veilleux, a sociology major, had a more lowkey summer. He said his summer consisted of working his job as a manager at McDonalds, a trip to Atlanta to visit family and walking around with his friends in New York City.

On the opposite end, a junior, Pavle Boutros, an economics major, visited family in Puerto Rico where he also went snorkeling. Boutros said he did not see any wildlife due to not going too deep within the ocean but said he did enjoy seeing the coral reefs.

Freshman Vanessa Riccardi, a biology major, spent part of her summer as a lifeguard. She accomplished a heroic feat by saving the life of a little girl. “She really didn’t know how to swim, like she wasn’t a strong swimmer,” she said, “She had jumped into the deep end of the pool. Her parents were not really watching her, so I had to go in and get her, but she was okay.”

For some, summer came with lifelong memories and learning opportunities. Freshman Elijah Rivera, a sociology and criminology major, said he spent his summer working at a camp with special needs kids. Aside from his time working at camp over the summer, Rivera said he also took a vacation to Lake George with a few of his friends, that he said was a highlight of his life which that he would never forget. He said it was a trip to bid ado farewell to friends before entering the next stage of their lives.

Rivera said he had that through his experience working at the camp allowed him to learn to appreciate another point of view from someone else’s point of view.

Rivera said he connected with one particular child at the camp. This child was non-verbal, and was reliant on using sign language and ‘yes or no’ questions to communicate.

“It was like having a brother, I remember when I left camp, and he didn’t really know what was going on. I knew what was going on, and I actually teared up a little bit ‘cause I had a real connection with that kid,” said Rivera, who has already made plans at that camp again next summer.

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