School can be devastating. Massive loans piled upon hours of homework.
If I had to do this all year round, I don’t think I could last all four years. Fortunately, with every year comes three months of freedom. No responsibilities, no rules and, most importantly, no homework. Summers can be a time to explore oneself or a the outside world.
Either way, it cannot be denied that summer is truly, utterly awesome. Life feels like a lazy dream, and
even though that dream has to end, it does not
mean we cannot reflect on the memories we have made.
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| Matt Kelley |
Jathan Sadowski
A second year Philosophy major, Jathan Sadowski spent the summer having a fun time in New Orleans.
How did you start your summer?
The first thing I did was head home to Dayton, Ohio. I needed to rest after the school year and there is no better place to do that than home. I knew that New Orleans would be fun but there would be no time to just relax.
Why did you go to New Orleans?
I grew up there, so I have a lot of fond memories from that time. Plus, my brother still lives in New Orleans so I was able to live with him. I wanted to go back and visit my brother, my friends and my favorite places.
What was a typical day in New Orleans?
My brother and I would wake up late and cook a good meal together. Being in Louisiana gives you a lot of access to fresh sea food and I had to take advantage of that while I could. Afterwards, I would walk around the French Quarter exploring what New Orleans had to offer and reminisce with a few friends. Of course, it is New Orleans, so at night I would party.
What was the best place
to party?
Every Thursday at One Eyed Jack’s was ‘80s night. Everyone would go fully decked out in authentic ‘80s clothes and dance until two or six in the morning. I would dance until I was so exhausted that it was hard to walk. Sometimes the sun would be starting to rise when I got home. It was such a great time.
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| Joanna Eberts |
What was your favorite thing that happened over the summer?
I started my half-sleeve tattoo. My brother and I are friends with a tattoo artist, who gives us a huge discount.
It sounds like there is a story behind that.
The tattoo artist is a small guy and he was hitting on a girl in a bar one night. The girl was reciprocating, nothing was going wrong. All of sudden, some huge guy comes over and started to shove him. My brother noticed this and stopped the guy from fighting. Ever since then, we’ve been getting cheap tattoos.
What will you miss about
the summer?
I’ll miss being with my brother and the city itself. New Orleans is great place to be.
What song best represents
your summer?
“Today Was a Good Day” by Ice Cube, because every day was a good day.
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| Matt Kelley |
Andrea Juback
The magical kingdom is where Andrea, a fourth year Marketing major, called home. She had the opportunity to work for Disney as a character actor for the parks in Orlando. Her summer days were spent making children smile and acting as Disney characters. Unfortunately, due to company policy, she couldn’t tell us
which ones.
What was a typical day of the summer?
When I woke up, I hopped on the bus and headed to one of the parks. I would be assigned to a certain location. I picked up my costume and I would start my day.
How did you find the job as a character actor?
My friend had done a college program that Disney does. I looked it up online, and noticed that one of the available positions was an actor. I have a large background in theater, dancing, and singing so I thought I had to do this. There happened to be auditions in Rochester so that was really lucky. I went to the audition and a few weeks later I got the call saying that I got it.
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| Joanna Eberts |
What was the best thing about your summer?
I worked in front of Cinderella’s castle almost every day and I got to watch the fireworks every night. And just seeing how happy the children are seeing you perform
is so rewarding.
How did you feel about giving up the character job?
I was bitter for a while. The last week of the job, I had denied to myself that I had to come back and freeze. I came back a week early because I was an Orientation Assistant and I love doing that. So I knew I was going to have fun when I got back. I love my friends but it was hard giving up that job.
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| Joanna Eberts |
But what were you looking forward to?
Graduating [Laughs]. I am a co-director for the female acapella encore at RIT. So we’re getting new members and that’s exciting. Every year is exciting with the group.
Did you have time for summer
movies or reading?
I didn’t really have much time for any movies or reading but I did watch “The Ugly Truth.” It was very funny and my summer
movie of choice.
What song best describes your summer?
The song they play after every parade and show at Disney, “The Time of Your Life” by Corbin Bleu because at Disney it really is the time of your life, as cheesy as that is.
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| Joanna Eberts |
Ryan Mackenzie Clough
Before starting his second year in Software Engineering, Ryan was able to land an internship in Manhattan working for FXCM. When he wasn’t programming, he spent the weekends raving and poppin’ n’ lockin’.
How did your summer begin?
I went home to Boston. I was waiting to hear back to see if I actually got a job in Manhattan. It turned out that I did, so I stayed in a hostel until I saved up enough to afford an apartment.
What was the job you ended up getting?
I was basically just an IT intern. There was a list of jobs for me to do. Some of them involved coding; some were IT. I got to choose the ones I liked to do. Being a Software Engineering major, I tried to stick to more programming-based jobs.
Did you enjoy the job?
Definitely. I had a great boss and I love coding. It was a bit like doing homework, but I got paid and I didn’t have to stay up until three in the morning.
What did you during your time off?
Manhattan was crazy. Definitely, a great place to be for the summer. There was at least one rave a week. If not, some other Brooklyn rooftop party. I do dance called poppin’ n’ lockin’, so I spent a lot of time trying to perfect that dance. So it was a lot of raving and dancing.
What do you think is the best place to rave?
It’s hard to say. There was a place called Club Exit, where a lot of raves went down. The biggest rave known as Candy Ball was held there, but otherwise it isn’t that great of a venue. There were better raves in worse venues, in that they were just dirty. You would walk out with a layer of soot on your arm. It was kind of gross.
Where did you go to pop n’ lock?
There was an amateur dance competition held by Radioshack when they changed their name to just the Shack. It was in the middle of Times Square. There were thousands and thousands of people watching. It was
pretty awesome.
Did you win?
There wasn’t really a winner declared.
What was your favorite moment
of the summer?
I had made a number of friends close to the end of summer. We went to a rave at an old military bunker and then went to the nearby beach. It was really a great way to conclude my summer.
What will you miss about being in New York?
You could find something to do at any time of the day. In Rochester, you really can’t do that but I’m glad to be back. I wish I had taken another quarter off to work
some more.
What song describes
your summer?
Definitely not “Sandstorm” but there were thousands of songs this summer. I can’t pick just one.
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| Matt Kelley |
Joe Featherall
Joe spent the summer with his family and studying in Germany. He traded in his old car which he claims was a heart-wrenching experience. It was a big summer of change, with a new car and his sister now leaving for college.
What was the first thing you did when
school got off?
I went home to spend time with my family before heading off to Germany. I had been working hard for four or five years and I haven’t seen them in a while. Then I went to Germany with the RIT study abroad program. I studied the German language and studied German engineering and architecture.
Why did you choose to go to Germany?
My family lineage is German and I happen to be a big fan of the Jetta. I thought it would be a great opportunity to view the world in a different light. Most importantly, it was a great opportunity to practice my German.
Where were you staying?
The school was in Marburg and I stayed with a host family.
What was a typical day like while you were
in Germany?
I’d wake up, usually pretty tired. My guest mother would ask me what I would like to eat for breakfast. It was all in German, which was embarrassing for the first two weeks because I feel like I couldn’t communicate well in German.
What was your favorite moment while you were abroad?
It is hard to decide which moment was the best. The faculty of the abroad program led a group of students to visit a lot historical sites, such as Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall. After dinner with the group, I went out with a friend, Maya, to a German club. I met a girl from Russia studying law and economics in Berlin. After we danced to insanity, we all found our way home.
What did you when you got back
from Germany?
I took this opportunity to go back with my family. My sister was visiting her college and it was a stressful time because she was joining the Corps of Cadets program at Texas A&M. I thought it was really important for all of us to spend some time together because I didn’t know when the next opportunity to do so will be. There are moments you just have to treasure.
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| Joanna Eberts |
What the saddest moment of the summer?
There are two I feel I need to talk about. The first is that I traded my best friend and truck of four years for the cash for clunkers program. The truck certainly had its problems but it has been there through thick and thin. At least, I got a Jetta for it.
The other would have to be saying to good bye to my sister. I don’t think anything else needs to be said there.
What will you miss about the summer?
My family and close friends. Those are people I will miss no matter what.
What song represents your summer?
“Hero of War” by Rise Against [because] my sister is joining the Corps of Cadets. So at the beginning of the summer, we went to a Rise Against concert. It’s a great song about a soldier, so it reminds me of the time my sister and I spent together.
