Spring break.
Such a simple phrase provokes a relaxing image of white sand, blue water and bronzed bodies holding a colorful fruity drink or two.
While many students prefer to jet off to the beach for their week-long vacation, there are others who think of something totally different when the phrase “spring break” is spoken: sweat.
Sophomore physics major Danielle Citro spent six days of her spring break running around the lacrosse field with her Oswego State teammates at the Caribbean Beach Resort in Disney World. It wasn’t all fun and games though, as the team spent their days practicing to prepare for the upcoming season, which officially began Tuesday against Clarkson with a 15-14 victory.
Instead of sleeping in late and then hanging out with Mickey Mouse all day, the women spent most of their days sweating on the field. Don’t feel too bad though: they were given the opportunity to play in the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Disney World. Not to mention they claimed a 16-11 overtime victory against Kean University.
“It was an exciting win because we won by five in overtime,” says Citro. “It was a good way to start our season off.”
During their down time, the team sprinted to Magical Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Typhoon Lagoon.
“It was definitely a bonding experience,” says Citro. “We got to know each other better.”
Citro is not the only Oswego State student who spent the break bonding with a team. Sophomore zoology major Lara Bruce traveled 14 hours by van to the Carolina Tiger Rescue, a non-profit wildlife sanctuary, in North Carolina.
The student volunteers spent their days loading cut branches and small trees onto trucks.
“Throughout the whole day we got to see all the different animals, so it made it totally worth it,” says Bruce.
She was able to catch glimpses of tigers, lions, ocelots, servals and cackerals.
“I’d definitely do it again. In fact, I plant on doing it next year,” says Bruce. “It’s a lot of hard work, but if you love animals, it’s totally worth getting 40-second views of a tiger for five hours of work. It’s not something you see every day.”
Bruce also managed to secure herself an externship for the summer because of her trip, which includes at least 80 hours of volunteer time. The externship, while not so literal, will be more hands on and comprised of feeding the animals and assisting with their medical care.
“I’ve always known I wanted to work with large terrestrial animals, but now I’m more excited to work with big cats, definitely,” says Bruce.
Sophomore business administration major Josh Dorn left behind what he was familiar with, craving something new to spice up his life. The answer: Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“I want to explore the world,” says Dorn.
Dorn has already traveled to Europe and South America was the next stop on his mission to conquer all seven continents. He and six other students, along with professor Milton Loayza, made the eleven-hour trek to Argentinathrough the GLS 100 study abroad class.
While in Argentina, Dorn visited the MALBA Museum of Latin American Art and attended a South American soccer game.
“It’s like the Yankees of soccer,” says Dorn, a huge baseball fan.
The trip showed Dorn how similar people in South Americaare to those in Europeand North America. Much to his surprise, he also made comparisons between Argentinaand New York City: Lo Boca reminded him of Chinatownand he visited Argentina’s equivalent of Broadway.
But back to that image of blue waves, warm sand and ice-cold drinks. Sophomore marketing major Nick Sterling envisioned this while he was planning spring break, and a trip to Orlando, Fla. ended up being his ticket to relaxation.
Sterling and seven buddies lounged around Marriott’s Cypress Harbor for seven days, soaking up the sun and, it seems, the drinks.
During his trip, Sterling spent his days by the pool, in the hot tub, on the tennis courts, or playing pool. They met many “strange people,” says Sterling, including a group of girls who let them crash in their hotel room for a night.
“I think everyone’s seen spring break on MTV and it’s crazy, so we’ve always wanted to experience it without our family,” says Sterling.
The nights, which in Orlando began around 11p.m., consisted of nightclubs and drinks. It also reminded Sterling of a scene straight out of “The Hangover.” Searching for a friend, attempting to file a missing persons report, and later finding him in a hospital bed in downtown Orlando are just a few of the highlights Sterling experienced.
“The whole time I was like, ‘I’m going to give him the biggest hug and then going to punch him in the face,’” says Sterling. “But I would do it all over again, if I had the chance.”
So would we.