As we, Honors students know, life can get busy. With this business of life comes the vitality of breaks. Everyone needs a break from school to get away, try something new, or simply rest. So, what did our summer breaks look like? Here are a few things that members of the Honors community did over the summer 2022 break!
Alley Falvo (Biology, Class of 2025)
Travels/work: I worked at a Summer Camp in Maine as a lifeguard and baking class teacher for a couple of months! We got to work with kids, teens, and even blind campers. The camp was surrounded by mountains and a lake, so I got to go on a lot of hikes.
Hobbies: I baked a lot, developed a habit of swimming laps, and read a lot of books. Baking was a calming and thoughtless activity, swimming was good exercise, and reading was mentally stimulating.
Highlight: My favorite part of the summer was hiking the multiple mountains around camp with my friends!
Dr. Geriguis (Honors Faculty)
Work: I worked in the Huntington Library (San Marino, CA) conducting research in their archives on my book project regarding the English cultural and literary responses to the rise of the scientific method in the 17th-18th centuries.
Dr. Gonzalez (Honors Faculty)
Travels: My family and I took a road trip to Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, and on to the east coast. I hadI’d never been to Montana before, so that was a highlight. Going to Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and Mount Rushmore were highlights too.
Hobbies: I started writing out my own series of psalms to God this summer. I loved this project and hope to continue it.
Work: I always teach during the summer. I taught a section of ENGL 111 for another school, and I taught a class on the Graphic Novel for La Sierra.
Highlight: Spending time with my kids outside and traveling through the US.
Katie Jang (English Creative Writing, Class of 2025)
Travels: New York! I went with my sister for four days, three nights. We mostly just walked around and ate good food. One highlight of the trip was discovering the Korean town right next to the Empire State Building. Another highlight was walking around Little Island, a small park above water near the Chelsea Market. It was a surreal experience that was at the same time peaceful.
I also went to Lake Tahoe and spent a good amount of time in LA!
Hobbies: Sourdough and matcha! I was mostly inspired by videos I saw on Instagram. Both were fun ways to keep busy and be creative without putting pressure on myself to produce something lasting.
Highlight: Going to San Francisco! I really enjoyed the scenery there!
Julia Ko (Biomedical Science, Class of 2026)
Travels: I visited South Korea with my family! Although we only stayed for 13 days, my family and I were able to experience a lot of fun (and delicious!) things together. We stayed in Gangnam, where we used to live, for the first week and then went on a mini trip to Sokcho (a coastal city) with my uncles and aunts for the second week.
Highlight: Enjoying South Korea with my family!
Ailinh Nguyen (Biomedical Science, Class of 2023)
Travels: I stayed local and went to the happiest place on Earth: Disneyland! I went with friends and had such a blast. Like always at Disney, I had a magical time and cannot wait to come back, especially since I am a Magic Key holder now! 😀
– Responses collected by Katie Jang (English Creative Writing, Class of 2025)