It’s July and summer is in full swing. For most students, this means two and a half months of beaches, relaxing and adventure, but for some students summer is the beginning of a new semester.
The VanCougar asked two students enrolled in summer session why they choose this path and how they get time to relax while attending classes.
Julian Avalos, a junior public administration and management student, recently completed his summer course, American Public Policy 316.
Avalos said the day he finished his final paper was also the day he went to Paradiso. He spent six to seven hours preparing his final paper, then departed to the Gorge Amphitheater for the three-day Paradiso music festival.
“Everyone is a friend here and everyone is welcoming of a conversation with a stranger,” Avalos said. “Music shakes the ground beneath your feet and smiles are cast amongst a crowd of people experiencing it all.”
While Avalos decompressed through music and meeting strangers, Morgan Beaty, a senior arts and elementary education major, decompresses in her own way after she decided to attend summer classes full time, so she can complete her degree faster.
According to Beaty, with most of her professors being teachers in an elementary settings, they often teach courses through the summer.
“Through the education program, because some of our professors are also teachers, they’ll teach classes through the summer. It’s kind of cool, we get that real-world professor experience and they’re using their job experience to actually teach us, but at the same time, we’re going full-time in the summer” Beaty said.
Taking classes through the summer has put Beaty on track to graduate spring 2020.“We have the option of going part-time, but it ends up taking five years instead of two. So, I didn’t really want to do that,” Beaty said.
A full course load in the first six-week session has allowed Beaty to take the second six-week session off. She plans on working as much as possible before classes begin on Aug. 19 since she will not be able to while student-teaching over fall and spring semester.
“Summer is my chance to kind of work as much as I can, build up as much as I can in my savings to kind of prepare for almost no income in the fall and spring,” Beaty explained.
While both students attended classes, their summer experiences varied greatly.
Summer looks different for all VanCougs. Did you do something exciting this summer? Submit your story to The VanCougar by logging in and filling out this form: https://vancouver-wsu.campuslabs.com/engage/submitter/form/step/1?Guid=2bfa1480-c97a-4b72-88c5-f7bae1fee083.
Brody Voge is a junior at WSU Vancouver studying strategic communications.