By Victoria Cline
Elm Staff Writer
From family traditions, to service projects, to preparing for future careers, Washington College students kept busy during their time off.
Jennifer Walls, junior, went home to visit family in Bowie, where they celebrated a “Family Oktober Fest to celebrate their German heritage,” she said.
Festivities included blue and white German decorations for the holiday and fun fall crafts like Pinterest pumpkins. Her mom went all out to put the family in the holiday spirit with German cuisine including, “Bratwurst with peppers and onions, warm German potato salad, soft pretzels, apple sauce cake, apple strudel, and German beer,” Walls said.
The tradition gave her family a “New Thanksgiving” celebration since so many family members have other obligations during the November holiday.
Another student, sophomore Sammy Howell, dedicated her break to finishing future plans and academic goals by filling out internship applications. She took advantage of her free time to be productive and finished more time-consuming projects, since she did not have to worry about classes, or on campus jobs, among other things.
Lastly sophomore Caitlyn Creasy joined Habitat for Humanity on their annual fall break service trip to Salem County, New Jersey.
“We started work on Thursday with some cleaning and organizing, building a fence, and fixing a roof/gutter. Friday, we stained the fence, some of us went to homes and built aluminum ramps for people who needed them, and finished our work on the gutter. Saturday was probably the most memorable one of all [the days]. We went back to the houses (it was a duplex) that we started on winter break and got to be there and participate in the Dedication Ceremony,” she said.
The team also worked at a habitat ReStore, where people can drop off donations for others to come in and buy.
Creasy said that she loved the trip.
“Seeing the families all moved in and actually living in a home that we helped make happen for them was truly rewarding. The whole break was such a great time, because we got to spend the weekend giving back to the community while having fun and making memories with some of the best people we know,” she said.
We’re more than halfway through the semester now and Thanksgiving Break isn’t too far away, so keep up the studying and hard work.