May 1, 2003 Online Since 1996 Vol 77 No. 49
Appalachian students look forward to summer break
Sarah Howell
Features Beat

Jacque Lenz | The Appalachian
Freshman French major Katy H. Orell, from Charlotte, will be studying in France over the summer. She will be taking Conversational French and Intermediate French II. The trip is scheduled to end June 27.
    Summer is just around the corner and as the anticipation rises, Appalachian State University students are struggling more and more to get out of bed for that morning class. Focus on work and studying comes and goes, replaced with sunny daydreams and the search to answer one question: What to do with the summer?
    Swimming, sleeping or having a staring contest with the television are just a few of the possibilities.
    However, most students said they will be working all summer. Though it is not necessarily the most stimulating option, employment is always time well spent. Bills require money, and so does another semester of college.
    Freshman chemistry major Julie E. Martin said she will be a lifeguard as well as help her boss run the business.
   Freshman recreational management major M. Elizabeth McNeely from Winston-Salem said she does not seem to mind work too much. She will be employed this summer as a raft and cave guide at Ace Whitewater in West Virginia.
    “I got interested in this my junior year of high school, after going to an Outward Bound program for 23 days,” McNeely said. “After that, I did a 10-week training course and got certified,” she said.
    Outward Bound is a program for youths and adults that challenges participants to experience the outdoors with a variety of activities, such as rafting.
    McNeely will be taking people down the New River and into the surrounding caves all summer.
    Freshman Forres M. Ambrose from Fuquay-Varina said he will be working as a counselor at the YMCA in Cary.
    “I’ve been working there for three years. Basically, I just play with the kids and have fun,” Ambrose said.
    Sophomore and psychology major Mike M. Harmon from Hendersonville and freshman special education major Julie K. Peebles from Greensboro will also both be counselors at Camp Tekoa in Hendersonville.
    “We lead backpacking trips, climbing trips, arts and crafts, stuff like that. We have new kids every week. I’m also a lifeguard,” Harmon said.
    Other students will not be working, but traveling.
    Graduating senior marketing major Marjorie W. Blankenship from Charlotte is taking a trip to Durban, South Africa with her friend Nauka Soni in May.
    Soni, a sophomore accounting major, is originally from South Africa. She came to Appalachian State January 2002 and said she has not been home since that time.
    “Nauka told me to come home with her and she would show me South Africa,” Blankenship said. “I want to visit another country while I don’t have any responsibilities like kids or a job. Nauka is going to tour me around, and her uncle has a condominium on the Indian Ocean. I mean blue water, flowery sand and a big cliff right behind you. I’m going for the cultural experience, but I also just want to see South Africa.”
    Soni said she is returning home to attend her 25-year-old brother’s wedding and see her family.
    Freshman French major Katy H. Orell from Charlotte will be studying abroad this summer in Angers, France.
    Appalachian and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro are teaming up to send foreign language students to the University of Angers in France to study French.
    “I don’t actually know anyone else who’s going, but you get to know your group,” Orell said. “We arrive in Paris May 31 and then take a train to Angers two days later. We are staying in dorms on the campus. I’m taking two classes, Conversational French and Intermediate French II, and class is every day five days a week. But after class, we get free time for stuff like shopping or taking trips. Loire Valley is infamous for its chateaus so there is a tour of those I plan to go on.”
    The trip is scheduled to end June 27, and the group will take a train back to Paris before returning home.
    Orell, however, will not be returning with her group.
    “I might meet my mom in South France or my brother; I don’t really know yet, but I am definitely staying an extra week,” she said. Orell also said she has been to Europe a few times already.
    Junior special education major W. Andrew Stover is also studying abroad in Spain through the University.
    Of course, there are also students who will remain students over the summer.
    Summer school is always a way to gain a little lead in your major or simply keep those hours up.
    Freshman public relations major Jennifer K. Perkins from Fayetteville said she will be attending Fayetteville Technical Community College this summer.
    “I’m taking a four-hour math class so I can have enough hours to become a sophomore. That way I can keep my financial aid,” she said.
    Whether the summer will include working or touring the world, one thing is clear: Three glorious months of freedom are on their way for Appalachian State University students. 		 
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