Spring is in the air! and so is the end of the semester. While the library is still full of students preparing for their final exams or completing final projects.

The official end of the semester is still a few weeks away, Students here at Wilkes University are looking forward to the warmer summer months. But for many students the relative summer break is looking less like a vacation and more like a different kind of hustle. Between athletic training, coaching and clocking in for summer shifts. I asked students what are your summer plans after the semester ends. 

For Landon and Dakota, twin brothers, they are sticking together this summer. Both plan on working full-time while coaching junior high football at Tunkhannock. When they aren’t on the sidelines, they’ll be hitting the golf course and hopefully squeezing in a trip to Ocean City.

For Ronan Lashomb he is heading back to upstate New York, Ronan is balancing work with a strict training regimen. “We all play hockey,” he says, “so we just got to get back in shape and get ready for the next season.” 

For Justin Filippelli, similarly, he is focused on the ice. He’s headed home to golf and work out to get stronger for the upcoming hockey season, with a side of part-time work. For Owen House ending the athletic crew, Owen plans to spend his months coaching hockey and preparing for the A-CHA hockey season. 

For other students summer break is about balancing work with a little bit of beach therapy. For Lauren DeMarco she is heading home to New York, where she’ll be spending her summer keeping things running at Walgreens.

For Audrey Rinda Like many of her peers, Audrey’s goal is a mix of productivity and relaxation. “I’m also going to work,” she says, “and hopefully go to the beach a couple times.” For Harper Wenzel she is echoing that sentiment, focusing on the classic student summer: working hard now to fund a well-deserved vacation later. 

Whether they’re heading to the Ice rink, the football field or working a few shifts, it’s clear that the drive seen in the classroom here at Wilkes carries beyond the end of the semester. Summer break is an opportunity to gear up for the upcoming year. While the campus may grow quiet in a few short weeks the work continues for these Colonels wherever they land.