Spring Break Review

Welcome back, everyone! Hope you all had a great spring break!

At Carleton, the spring break was a short 10-day vacation. I initially thought that it would be a very little amount of time, but it turned out to be just enough to get some work done and relax. Let me briefly go over the things I did over the spring break.

A trip to Boston

Travel is an indispensable part of holidays for me. Among the big cities in the U.S., three of my friends and I picked Boston to visit, mainly because we all have friends studying and living there. Luckily, all of us wrapped up our final exams period early. So even before the exam period ended, we were already on our way!

Overall, we had a pleasant experience there. We visited the Museum of Fine Arts (one of the best museums I’ve ever been to), had some really good food (lobster rolls, oysters, and milk tea every day), and met up with our own friends. Not only did our minds and bodies get a good rest, but our stomachs felt pretty satisfied as well. Simply sitting on the long chairs in the Boston Common and enjoying the sunshine for the entire afternoon was entertaining enough for us.

Application for the OCS program next year

After coming back from the trip, I decided to get some work done before falling into a five-days-long sleep. The first thing I did was complete the application for an Off-Campus Study program in Paris next year. As I truly enjoyed learning French at Carleton and want to further improve my language skills, I’ve been planning for this program for a long time. It looks like a perfect match for me. While attending some interesting classes, we will also live with a Parisian family and travel to Provence at the end of the program. Since it’s a Carleton program, the application wasn’t too hard. I answered fourteen short essay questions and submitted all the required materials. I sincerely hope that I can leave for this program next spring!

Application for peer leader next year

The Peer Leader Program is a huge program at Carleton. Every year, hundreds of students are employed as peer leaders across twelve Carleton offices. For example, you can apply to work at the Career Center to support students with career content, to work at the Office of the Chaplain to enhance religious diversity, or to work at the Office of Health Promotion to disseminate health and well-being information to the Carleton community.

As a first-year international student, I participated in the peer mentor program created by the Office of Intercultural Life (OIL) and benefited so much from the various events and activities organized by them and the Office of International Student Life (ISL). That’s why I want to become an OIL or ISL peer leader myself and help other first-year students navigate through the resources on campus and have a smooth transition to college. To apply for the position, I first filled out the common application and then submitted my résumé and cover letter through Handshake.

Rest as always

After getting all my work done, I could finally lie down on my bed without worrying about anything. As the majority of students left for home during the break, it felt nice to have the space myself most of the time. Aside from sleeping, I did some chores, like doing my laundry and cleaning my dorm a little bit.

To sum up, the spring break is a much needed break from the day-to-day life at Carleton. It made me feel ready for the spring term.

Sherry is a first-year student from Hangzhou, China, and holds a real passion for travel and food. She is thinking about majoring in Mathematics, but would also like to explore more in Economics, Computer Science, English, and French. Things she likes to do in her free time include hanging out with friends, taking photos, writing random stuff, and finding the funny in everyday life. She also got started with alpine skiing and is always ready for the trip to Welch Village every Friday! Meet the other bloggers!