The spring semester is about end, and for most Salt Lake Community College students, that means one thing: summer vacation.
Barbeques, burgers on the grill, picnics at the park, Fourth of July festivities and all the summer madness.
Not so fast.
While some students prefer to take some time off in the summer, others are on the fast-track to finishing college. For these dedicated students, summer translates to more class, homework and tests.
Jose Angel Oliva Valiente, a freshman, is taking classes this summer to get his applied science degree sooner.
“I’m going all year round for two years. I will be taking a communication class and AMTT 1240 for my aviation program. I am taking them because I want to be done with school as soon as possible to start doing what I want to do in life and work with aircrafts.”
Valiente says that missing out on the summer fun is a small price to pay for following his dreams.
“I feel excited that I found something I really enjoy that I don’t care for partying as much anymore, I care about my future because it will be rewarding at the end, I would feel like I am wasting time if I didn’t take those classes in the summer.”
Ana Leidy Lopez, a health science major, also plans to use the summer to her academic advantage.
“I haven’t signed up for any classes yet. I procrastinate until the day of, it’s something that I need to work on.”
Like Valiente, Lopez also wants to graduate faster.
“I want to finish with my degree quicker and electing to sign up for the 2015 summer semester will help me,” says Lopez. “I want to take Astronomy, Math, Science, and English, but whatever is available will do.”
The decision to forgo months of partying and vacations for studying and classrooms can depend on a student’s other responsibilities.
Stephanie Roth, a biotechnology major, will be spending time with her twin boys, Gavin and Emerson.
“I want to spend the summer with my kids before I get my AS in the fall, and I’m really not a fan of the summer semester anyway.”
When asked about how much her kids mean to her she says, “They give me purpose beyond myself.”
Whether students enroll in classes or take a break, the summer semester gives everyone a chance to do what’s best for them.
Summer semester is okay if you can get them easy classes like some of the easier generals or pre-reqs out of the way. But if you’re like me, a student with learning disabilities and so on, summer semester can go pretty quick.
Also students like me that have disabilities or struggle at hard subjects like math that have gotten all of their easy pre-reqs and generals out of the way, then get some math tutoring to keep up on your math and so on and work and have some fun. Because in the fall and spring semesters you have more time in the semesters and load up your schedule more. Because one day you be working in the field you went to school for and have a family and so on and will not have the time to take off whenever and have fun during the summer because of more adult responsibilities.
I say work a part time job and enjoy your summers now when you have the time.
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