By Jack Despeaux
Elm Staff Writer
The most exciting places to be during spring break are the places with sunshine, beaches, concerts, and no worries in the world. Some students instead found themselves in the exciting streets of Chestertown and the Cater Walk.
Every year, students leave Washington College and go home, or to the beach, or anywhere that isn’t dorms and classes. Some students either don’t have that opportunity, or have their own reasons for wanting to stay on campus.
Sports teams often continue practicing during the break, keeping student-athletes in Chestertown, or to other training locations. Junior rowers Lee Potter and Sara Underwood spent their spring break rowing on the Chester and Schuylkill rivers. Both teams had two two-hour practices a day.
The men’s team went on a trip to Philadelphia to train with Villanova’s rowing team, and they got the opportunity to watch a 76ers basketball game.
“That trip was a lot of fun,” Potter said.
Underwood was unable to practice due to an injury, but she remained with the team. The women’s rowing team stayed on campus, but had a variety of practices for the break.
Underwood said that the team swam on campus for two practices and had a practice in the Johnson Fitness Center instead of at the boat house. The team also went to the Echo Hill ropes course for team bonding, and had a dinner at Procolino’s Pizza as well.
Rowing may not have been Underwood’s favorite part of spring break, though.
“It’s always nice being here on spring break because there are so many parking spots,” she said.
Other students remained on campus because it gave them the free time to do things on campus that they can’t usually fit into their busy schedules.
Junior Danielle Murdock was able to spend her free time in Chestertown to go practice for a Trap and Skeet tournament.
“I wanted to be able to get some range time in before the Trap and Skeet National Championships in San Antonio, Texas,” Murdock said. “It’s really hard for me to get practice time in while I’m home so it just made sense for me to stay at school where I have access to facilities.”
Murdock remained on campus to work at Dunkin’ Donuts in downtown Chestertown. Murdock said that her work took up most of the time she spent in Chestertown during spring break, and she had challenges with the dining hall schedule while working in town.
“The shortened times made it really difficult for me to eat because I typically worked through lunch, so I wasn’t able to eat more than dinner,” she said.
Junior Iz Clemens stayed on campus to work at her internship at the Kent County Middle School, where she had the opportunity to really immerse herself in her work.
“I could stay at the middle school for full days, I saw many more students and how my mentor teacher taught classes differently depending on what different students and classes responded to,” she said.
Clemens, who is working to be a teacher after college, said that the opportunity to spend so much time in her desired field was very beneficial to her career development.
“I also attended a professional development meeting with all of the teachers at Kent County Middle School, which gave me much more insight into the day of a teacher, as I saw how the teachers problem solved together and encouraged each other,” she said.
Junior Henning Kjøita, a four-year international student from Norway, hasn’t had the chance to go home for spring break yet in his college career.
Kjøita said that he went to a friend’s house last spring break, and the year prior his parents came to the United States to visit him.
This year, Kjøita stayed on campus to be with his girlfriend and to catch up on work. He said that he did all of the things that he has been procrastinating from doing, like researching for his upcoming thesis. He applied for jobs, but found the time to relax and play video games.
“It was OK and I got stuff done,” Kjøita said.
Sometimes having time to oneself on campus, and to do work and relax without the rest of WC on campus, can be just what the doctor ordered.
“I [was] happy with my decision to stay here, it was relaxing having campus being so quiet,” Murdock said.