With finals just a few weeks away, students are making plans to get the most out of summer break – whether through vacations, summer classes, mission trips or jobs. According to the Registrar’s Office, the last day of final exams for the spring semester is May 9, and the first day of classes for the fall semester is Aug. 18, leaving about three months for students to relax, study, work or travel.
Rebecca Whitten, a freshman education major, plans to divide her summer between work, summer classes and vacation, aiming for a balance of rest and productivity.
“I’m taking three classes this summer online, I’m working as a summer camp counselor and I’m also going to the beach for a week,” Whitten said
GCSU offers a wide range of summer opportunities and activities for students to participate in, including online and in-person classes, study abroad programs and department-led trips overseas. The university’s select choral ensemble, the Max Noah Singers, is scheduled to travel to Europe in June to perform in Berlin and Prague, and to participate in the Notes of Harmony: Berlin Choral Festival.
“I’m super excited, a little nervous because it’s my first time going out of the country,” said Sophia Tritto, a sophomore elementary education major and choir member. “But I’m more excited than anything, and I’m just grateful to have this opportunity.”
Tritto noted that summer break is the perfect time for students to travel to other places and countries, applying their liberal arts education to explore diverse cultures and communities.
“Students going to other places besides where they’re from or what places they’re used to can bring about a lot of cultural benefits, they can truly understand how other people might live,” Tritto said “It’s just an amazing learning opportunity, and you can make amazing friendships on trips like this too.”
Whether students are returning to their hometowns or heading abroad, summer offers a chance to put the skills and knowledge gained at college into real-world practice.
“For the first part of the summer, I’m going to go home and give tennis lessons, coaching some kids at home,” said Rachel Black, a freshman Biology major and member of the Women’s tennis team. “Then at the end of the summer, I’m going to get the chance to go through BCM and Send Me Now to Romania, so I’ll be there July 13-30. I’ll spend two weeks there doing Vacation Bible School for kids in Romania and just sharing the Gospel there. I’m really excited.”
Campus organizations like the Baptist Collegiate Ministry provide students with opportunities to travel and serve others during their summer break, as students may not have the time or resources to travel after they graduate. Black emphasized that this summer is a time for all students to make a difference in their communities, wherever they are.
“It’s a time away from school a little bit, just to go out into the world and really put in the brightness, the skills that we learn at school,” Black said. “I think it’s important to not only do those in the school environment but to also branch out and to do this wherever, if that’s Romania, if that’s in your hometown, if that’s at your job, wherever that is over the summer.”
From studying and working to traveling and serving, this summer is a time for students to grow, give back and discover more about the world and about themselves. Whether far from campus or close to home, the months ahead offer more than just a break, but also an opportunity to take what has been learned and live it out.