Traveling across the world, having a blast at sleepaway camp, pursuing an internship, or even staying at home and binging on Stranger Things - we all kept busy over the summer. At some point after you returned to school, you probably asked your friends the question, “What did you do over the summer?” Well, to get a broader answer, I conducted a short survey to see what EHS students did over the 2022 summer break.
The most popular response was traveling. Many of our classmates visited numerous places, whether it be in a 100-mile or 10,000-mile radius of Edgemont. Two students traveled to India, including Rohan Patel, a freshman: “I went to India for the first time in 3 years to visit family.” Many people could most likely relate to this experience, as the pandemic has made it very difficult to see our loved ones in different parts of the world. He later continued, “... though it was only for a short time, it was a blast!”
A few other students traveled to places in Europe such as Greece, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Romania, and France. One student who visited Italy wrote in response to my survey, “My family traveled from Venice to Florence, Rome, and Sorrento.”
Another student that journeyed to Spain wrote, “I went to Spain for the first time in 2 ½ years. I got to see all my family.” Florin Sailer, a senior who visited Romania, described their experience as “tense because Ukraine is pretty close to Romania … but it was still good to see my friends and family there.” It is encouraging to hear that a fellow student was able to visit their loved ones, especially amidst geo-political conflict.
A couple of students stayed in the Americas and traveled to places in Bermuda, Cape Cod, Alaska, Delaware, Maine, Costa Rica, and, believe it or not, New York. F\reshman Anya Dalal “traveled to Costa Rica, which was super fun!” Nina Cantos, an 8th grader, explored caves in Bermuda, writing, “I went diving in a cave with crystal clear, ice cold water.” As this summer was warmer than expected, a dive in the chill water sounds like a great way to cool off.
Aside from visiting countries across the world, many students participated in various internships, programs, camps, courses, and other exciting activities. Jiya Singh, a senior, described her fascinating internship: “I interned at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the city in an oncology lab, and my research involved oncogenes and protein mutations and the effect they have on fruit flies.” I wish Jiya good luck with her intricate research.
Another student who participated in a data science research program wrote: “It was online and was run by the Coding School in collaboration with Columbia University. As for actual traveling, I went to Canada twice to visit my grandparents and visited Boston for a few days with my mother.” Sounds like one packed summer!
A few students attended sports camps. Eighth grader Ryan Waxler went to a fencing camp in Boston: “It was a week long and we had the entire Harvard fencing staff coach us.” A lot of people can relate to the idea of spending their summer playing and practicing sports. Another eighth-grader, Haarathi Kanna, enjoyed playing tennis over the summer. He related, “I was preparing to try out for the team in August. It was a lot of fun and I had a great time improving my skills.”
Another student, Yuchen Wei, woke up at dawn to swim during the summer mornings. In addition to traveling to the Cayman Islands, Yuchen elaborated,“I mostly did swim practice from 6:30 to 8:30 in the morning. I went to a swim meet in early August, and then my family and I went to the Cayman Islands for Scuba Diving.”
Some sharpened their academic skills by taking outside courses at various institutions. A sophomore informed me,“I spent most of my summer at an institute getting ahead in English and Math to prepare me for this school year.”
Overall, many of our classmates did amazing things over the summer: traveling all around the world, visiting different landmarks, diving into caves or visiting family, attending different summer camps, and advancing academically.
Here are some more descriptions of summers well-spent from your classmates:
Ava Min, Senior - “Went to Tanzania for a law internship-- most notable thing: was taught how to roller skate by a very nice lady in the Istanbul airport during a 7-hour layover.”
Nicole Hernandez Unger, Freshman - “This summer I went camping in Canada.”
Alyssa Wang, Eighth Grader - “I went to Alaska and we ate some salmon :)”
Jade Wang, freshman - “I made a muffin :D”
Nayyab Waleed, Senior - “I did college tours and I also got to see a lot of family. I went to Delaware and a multitude of states. I also volunteered a lot.”
Yihan Qin, Freshman - “I went to Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine.”
Lauren Lee, freshman - “I went on a few RV trips with my family (and dog). We stayed at Watkins Glen in upstate NY, where there are rolling hills as far as the eye can see. We went hot air ballooning and hiked up a waterfall trail.”
Stephanie Avolio, Junior - “I did the Camino de Santiago. It’s a historical walk through Spain that has been walked for more than 1000 years. Most unforgettable trip I’ve EVER had.”
Arjun Rao, Sophomore - “This summer I practiced embroidery, a pastime I had only just picked up in 3D art. Though it takes some time to get into the rhythm of the stitches and create something substantial, the results of careful needlework can be very rewarding.”
Brandon Jeon, Senior - “I did a summer course on computer science at Columbia University.”
Gianna Porco, Sophomore - “I went to Greece, Montenegro, and Italy with my family. I also did a dance intensive for two weeks, and went to the beach, and upstate a few times.”