After a long and strenuous academic year, many students are excited to take a break. During the three and a half months of summer vacation, students plan to travel abroad, spend time with family and friends, do research and work summer jobs. 

Bryan Slaton, a sophomore bioengineering major, is helping to run CampBioE, a summer camp teaching kids all about bioengineering at Pitt.

“We’re teaching second to 12th graders about everything about bioengineering, just a very hands-on type of fun summer camp,” Slaton said.

After this semester, Slaton said he’s “excited to sleep in” and “excited for the break.”

Bella Emmanouilides, a junior sociology major, is staying in Pittsburgh for the summer to work at Thriftsburgh and begin research for her bachelor of philosophy degree. Her research will examine the construction and presentation of young female identities on social media.

“I’m very excited,” Emmanouilides said. “I’m kind of nervous because I already feel impostor syndrome … so I think giving myself the summer and not doing an internship is best.”

While staying in Oakland, Emmanouilides said she is excited to spend time with friends in the city, especially because she doesn’t see them as much during the school year.

“Hopefully I’ll have some more time and resources to explore Pittsburgh and explore different parts of the city,” Emmanouilides said.

Kristin Cho, a junior economics major, said she is taking four classes this summer — two at Pitt and two at a community college near her home, 30 minutes outside of Philadelphia. She’ll be taking calculus and computer science, which she isn’t too excited for, accompanied by Korean 1 and Korean 2.

“I mean, it’s not really fun to take four classes, but I’m sure I’ll find some fun in … [the] Korean [classes],” Cho said.

Hannah Mishinkash, a junior communication science major, said she will be studying abroad with Pitt in Cyprus for a month.

“I think there’s a lot of archeological stuff in Cyprus, so that will be cool to learn about,” Mishinkash said.

Though Mishinkash is excited for a break, she expressed how weird it feels to be going into senior year.

“We’re gonna be seniors next year, so that’s kind of scary,” Mishinkash said.

Emmanouilides shared similar feelings, especially as she has watched some of her friends prepare to graduate and take graduation photos.

“I’ve been thinking about how fast this year seemed to go by, and then next year it’s probably gonna feel the same way, and then it’ll all be done,” Emmanouilides said.

Harper Leary, a first-year political science major, said she will be spending two weeks in Iceland with her family. Leary said she’s excited to visit Reykjavík, the nation’s capital, and to go snorkeling.

“We’re supposed to snorkel in between the tectonic plates, which are in a lake, so that’s cool,” Leary said. “I don’t know what to expect from that.”

Besides visiting Iceland, Leary said she will return to her job at Lost + Found, a vintage store in Philadelphia, where she enjoys interacting with coworkers and customers.

Medina Baram, a first-year psychology major, is visiting family in Antwerp, Belgium, for one month. 

“It’s fun,” Baram said. “The city itself is kind of boring, but I love seeing my family.”  

Aside from visiting family, Baram said she coaches gymnastics and will be coaching a camp for the rest of the summer, which she is looking forward to after an academic year without any income.

“I’m very excited … to be going home and just working,” Baram said. “I hate being broke, so making money will be nice.”

Jack Robertson, a first-year mechanical engineering student, is traveling to Europe for three weeks. Two weeks will be spent in Spain for a Pitt study abroad program about healthcare and technology.

“I’m doing a Plus3 program, but I’m also doing one week of hanging out with my family and exploring Europe,” Robertson said. “I don’t have family in Spain, but we all wanted to travel there.”

Sean Armour, a first-year engineering student, is excited to go home and “be done with the semester.”

“[I’m looking forward to] hanging out with the boys, my girlfriend, going to the gym and just enjoying life,” Armour said.