Spring Break 2022: What Will Penn State Students Do With Their Free Week?
It’s safe to say that students are joyous about spring break approaching, especially after not having one last year due to covid. With students getting a whole week off, what will they do with their free time?
Fatimah Griffin, a sophomore studying forensic science, is excited about having spring break back this year and plans to spend it with family. Griffin is also going on a road trip with friends which will involve visiting various places around New Jersey as well as the Poconos in Pennsylvania.
“I’m from Jersey,” said Griffin. “But I haven’t seen the town a lot. I’ll finally be able too.”
Courtney Chiurazzi is a grad student studying special education who will be graduating with her master’s degree this upcoming May. Balancing her schoolwork, as well as being a student teacher at State High, Chiurazzi is excited about spring break.
“Spring break will be a nice change back into normalcy and to decompress.” Chiurazzi said.
Chiurazzi will be spending her spring break in Delray, Florida at her dad’s house. Five of her friends, also students at Penn State, will be staying with her as well.
“It’s going to be fun,” Chiurazzi said. “Listen to some live music, get some good food, relax and enjoy the weather.”
Although not all students at Penn State are spending their spring break going out of town. Matt Achtziger, a junior studying English, doesn’t have many plans other than going home to spend time with his family and girlfriend. Achtziger, who has described his semester as “busy but good”, is happy that students will be getting a week off again instead of the sprinkled in wellness days that they got last spring.
“Definitely I’ll take a longer break instead of the wellness days interrupting stuff.” Achtziger said.
Last spring, Penn State students saw their spring break get taken away from them by the pandemic. The school, to make sure students stayed safe while also giving them some time off, put into effect wellness days. There were three total wellness days last spring, one per month. Students were not happy with the wellness days, though were understanding to the situation.
Another student who is staying home for the week is Mitch Rosen. A junior studying management, Rosen plans to spend his time with family and friends, and nothing much else other than playing video games and watching movies.
“It’s going to be nice to just relax and see my family and hometown friends again,” said Rosen. “Help me get my mind off of school.”
Sheng Su, a post senior with a double major in math and computer science, plans to not go anywhere for spring break. With the ongoing pandemic on his mind, Su feels that spring break is not the same as it was before.
“What’s the point?” Su asked. “Get a whole week to go somewhere else like New York or Florida. With the whole pandemic season those vacation places are not in good conditions.”
Even though he won’t be vacationing, Su is still happy to have a spring break and believes they are better than the wellness days.
“I appreciate the whole week off,” Su said.
