Caitlin Troutman, senior Oxbridge Literature and Theory major: During Spring Break, several students at William Jewell College used their time off to work, travel, learn and go new places. “The Hilltop Monitor” asked students to share their experiences with us and show us how they broke spring.
Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Will Hyde, junior business and political science major: I went to California for 10 days for the University Innovation Fellows (UIF) national meet-up at Stanford University. We visited companies like Microsoft, Google and AirBnB to learn about design-thinking, how to generate a creative culture for an entrepreneurial mindset, and to network lead innovators around the country. The other fellows and I hope to put into actions the lessons we learned on the trip back at William Jewell to empower students to strive to improve our campus.
Rae Snider, senior English major: As an early birthday present, my girlfriend took me to Paris. The sights and the weather were beautiful, but she was by far my favorite thing there.
Athena Palmer, junior nursing major: I work at KU as a nursing associate, and I worked 40 hours over Spring Break.
Paige Soukup, sophomore nursing major: I went to Colorado with several of my close friends, and we visited Rocky Mountain National Park, the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs and we spent a day in Denver. It was fun to be able to experience several different types of mountain landscape within the span of a couple days. Experiencing the different cultures of mountain towns and the cities in Colorado and how they differ from the cultural climate of the Kansas City area was incredibly interesting. I thought it was important because taking a break from the stresses of school helps me manage my mental health.
Elliott Yoakum, first-year Oxbridge literature and theory major: I went to Orcas Island, which is off of Washington state with friends.
Shannen McCoy, senior business administration major: For #SprangBrekk2k17 I went to Banff, AB, Canada. A friend I made in Peterborough, ON, Canada last summer where I interned at Ontario Turtle Trauma Centre recommended the place. I lived in a hostel for a week with others from Australia, South, Africa, France and Germany. During the week, I went snow tubing, trekked 2 kilos across a frozen lake, hiked 6 kilos up a gondola and drove a dog sled through the Canadian Rockies (my favorite day because the doggos were the cutest, most lovable pals I’ve ever met).
Zoe Spangler, junior theater and ACT-In major: Over break, I exhibited my lighting design work from Jewell Theatre Company’s production of Godspell (2012) at a young professional’s exhibition called Cover the Walls at the 2017 United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) Annual Conference in Saint Louis. USITT is a non-profit, membership organization that seeks to advance the networks, knowledge and skills of theatre professionals involved in the areas of design and production. I had fun meeting new people, gaining feedback on my portfolio, attending workshops, receiving OSHA training, and visiting the City Museum. My conference fees were paid in part by Jewell’s Student Travel Grant.
Ben Shinogle, senior English and political science major: I went to Palo Alto, Calif. and San Francisco with the University Innovation Fellows. While there, I worked with Landon Young and Alex Holden to develop a set of connections with prominent tech companies in the area and begin to conceptualize how a partnership might look leveraging Jewell’s resources with the experience and design thinking incumbent in the technology field.
Daniel Virga, senior Oxbridge molecular biology major: Nine of us set off west to explore Great Sand Dunes National Park, Moab, Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park and Zion National Park. We hiked, camped and generally just adventured while out there. We did take on some exhausting trails, but to experience the wonders of nature with such a great group of people was remarkable. You can see more of Danny’s photos from his trip here.
