Fall Break is around the corner, and SMU students have started making plans for the first long break of the semester.
From Oct. 8 to12, students have the opportunity to travel home, visit friends or catch up on some much needed rest.
Typically, seniors use this break to travel and spend time with one another, while freshmen use the break to go home to visit family.
“I’m really looking forward to getting some rest,” said freshman James Long, who is spending the five-day vacation with his mother, grandmother and sister at his lake house in Hot Springs, Ark.
“I’ll probably hang out, go boat riding and hopefully, if it’s not too cold, I’ll get to go water skiing,” he said.
Rachael Mackin, a senior journalism major, is using the break to travel to Los Angeles with a group of her friends.
“We’re trying to plan as many girls’ trips and crazy getaways before we have to enter the real world in May,” Mackin said.
Senior markets and culture major Alison Parke agrees.
“Being a senior makes me want to be with my friends more. In the past, I have usually laid low and gone to visit my siblings at their respective colleges. This will be my first Fall Break experience with friends,” she said.
Meanwhile, some upperclassmen are using the break to get a head start in the business world.
“A lot of seniors are using this time to get their names and resumes out in the open,” Mackin said.
“If they aren’t interviewing, they’re taking the time to visit New York, Los Angeles and other big cities to get in touch with companies they are interested in working for after college,” she said.
One senior, Jieun Pyun, is using the break to explore her interest in politics. Pyun is traveling to Washington, D.C. with the Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Hilltop on the Hill program.
“I’ve always been interested in politics, and I’ve been to Washington, D.C. a couple of times, so I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for me to see how advocacy groups and politicians work up there,” Pyun said.
The Hilltop on the Hill program provides students with a behind-the-scenes experience to learn how communication functions on Capitol Hill.
For other students, SMU’s Outdoor Adventures is offering a Fall Break Matagorda Island coastal kayaking trip.
Limited to a small group of five, students will spend three nights camping and two days sea kayaking across the Intracoastal Waterway from Port O’Connor, Texas, to the barrier island of Matagorda, Texas.
“We believe that beyond what happens in class, this is also a very important learning experience,” said Albert Mitugo, outdoor adventure coordinator.
SMU’s Outdoor Adventures was started in 2005 with the hopes of educating students and strengthening leadership skills through outdoor activities.
“Students look forward to going on more trips and feel change in their lives, and it’s for this reason that we continue to offer these programs,” Mitugo said.
Though SMU offers students the opportunity to travel through the school, many upperclassmen still prefer to use the long weekend as a getaway with friends.
“This is one of our last opportunities [to be together] before we all disperse into our desired cities to pursue careers,” Parke said.
