Spring Break Relaxation

Erica Toussant,
Senior, Civil Engineering

Athens, OH 12 March 2013 – Over this year’s spring break, I took a week vacation in Florida. The break was early March so the northern part of FL was still cold. Luckily, I was down in Fort Lauderdale/Miami area. I was going to visit my boyfriend and some of his family he was staying with as he trained for the NFL draft.

I woke up super early the first Saturday of the break to drive to Columbus to catch my flight at 7:50am. I grabbed my backpack (I packed very light!) and was on my way. After a quick layover at the first stop, I landed in Florida around 1:00pm. It wasn’t as warm as I had hoped, but it certainly was much warmer than Ohio, and the temperature gradually increased throughout my stay. I got to spend the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday with my boyfriend. We spent this time by going to the movies, grabbing desserts at a fancy restaurant at the top of a building in South Beach, eating a home cooked meal with his aunt and uncle, and just relaxing by the pool at his cousin’s place.

Throughout the week, while he was training, I found ways to occupy myself. I read a really great book while I sat at the pool, looked around shops that I really had no business looking in considering the outrageous price tags, and taking walks on the beach. His aunt and uncle and a couple of her friends took me to the beach the one day. So, I got to meet these new people who are from other parts of Ohio.

Unfortunately halfway through the week, I woke up with sun poisoning and had to skip my scheduled trip to a nearby beach. I used the day to do some laundry and catch up on some shows and some sleep, but I made sure the following days were spent in the sun.

The trip was relaxing and exactly what I needed in the middle of this busy semester. It was a spring break to remember, not one about the usual college spring break trips, but one about me meeting new people, catching some rays, and learning an awesome new game called rummikub.

Basketball Season at Ohio

Steve Burns,
Senior, Industrial and Systems Engineering

Athens, OH 28 January 2013 – Now that the new semester is here, I am very excited for the rest of Ohio University’s basketball season. The basketball games are a great way to have some fun and take a break from schoolwork during the week. These games have become one of my favorite activities here on campus because of the excitement that exists in the Convo during a close game and because of the large number of students that show up to each home game. Also, it doesn’t hurt that the basketball program here is not too shabby…and by not too shabby I mean defending MAC champions and a Sweet 16 run last season.

Not only are the home games a great time, road games can be even more fun. It’s great when enough people get together to make a trip to an away game. By far my favorite experience following the basketball team was when they were making a run into the NCAA tournament last season. A group of my friends and I went to the MAC championship game in Cleveland to watch Ohio win there, only to pack up shortly after and head to Nashville, Tennessee to watch the first round of tournament games. This is one of my favorite memories being a student here thus far. There were students and fans from schools across the country gathered in one central location to watch and cheer on their respective schools. The Ohio game versus Michigan was a thriller and one that I will never forget, both because of the win and the impressive number of OU students and supporters who made the trip to Nashville to cheer on the team.

So I’m pumped it is basketball season again and that conference games are underway. Hopefully the basketball team will have another incredible season because if they do I know I will be watching and along for the ride.

Traveling to China

Jessica Borer,
Senior, Electrical Engineering

Athens, OH 27 January 2013 – One thing every student loves about Ohio University is its unusually long winter break. On semesters, we have a month off for winter break, these four weeks gave me the opportunity to visit my dad. For the past seven years or so my dad has been working in China and living there for the past year and a half. We’ve always been a close family so it can be difficult to not be able to call him up whenever I want to. After Christmas this year my mom, sister, and I went to visit him in Shanghai.

Shanghai is pretty different than the US, especially compared to Athens. For starters, there is a 13 hour time difference which takes a couple days to adjust to. The trip was a ton of fun though; we went to the top of the third tallest building in the world and visited an aquarium with the longest underwater tunnel in the world.

It was also just great to spend time as a family for more than a couple days at a time. I was never able to visit my dad during the summer because I always worked so this four week break was the only time I was be able to see how my dad lives half way around the world.

Spring Break with the Robe Leadership Institute

Devin Liskey, Senior, Industrial and Systems Engineering

Athens, OH 12 April 2012 – This spring break I had the opportunity to travel to San Diego, California with Russ College’s Robe Leadership Institute. We visited three businesses a day for three days. We were given a personal tour by the CEO of each business and participated in an information and question panel after the tour. Each CEO had his own style and story and it was very interesting to hear how each had worked their way to their position.
After the three days, the group had some free time to explore. Below is a picture of a few of us on the USS Midway, a floating naval aviation museum. The ship was staffed completely by veterans who had served on similar ships. When we told a few of the guides that we were engineers, they were excited and talked with us in depth about the boilers and engines.

Spring Break in San Diego

Abby Frankart, Senior, Mechanical Engineering

Athens, OH 28 March 2012 – This spring break I had the opportunity to travel with several of my fellow Robe Leadership scholars to Sunny San Diego! We spent two intense days speaking with CEOs of several startup companies, touring their facilities, and learning about leadership “in the trenches.” It was a lot of a fun and a really great learning experience.

The most memorable part of the trip however, was visiting the engineer’s playground: the USS Midway. It is a retired aircraft carrier turned museum anchored on the San Diego bay. The carrier was decommissioned in 1992, and is now staffed with volunteers who toured on the Midway.
It was a really great piece of history, but on top of that there are lots of things for an engineer to play with. It was a self-guided tour, and we took full advantage of pressing every button, turning every valve, and flipping every switch within arm’s length. On the flight deck, there were planes and helicopters everywhere. You could climb in the pilot’s seat in many of the aircraft. (I may or may not have cut a line of anxious 8-year-olds on a field trip to get in the pilot’s seat.) The USS Midway is a must see for anyone in the San Diego area.