As soon as school is out, most students relax and take advantage of the nice weather. Others get busy right away with a variety of activities, ranging from immersion in the outdoors to service projects.
Many students choose to go to sleepaway camp, whether it is for one week or for the entire summer. Sophomore Zoey Garver has been going to Camp Blue Ridge every summer for seven years. “I love seeing my camp friends from all over and reconnecting, and I also love the atmosphere of the camp. I swim in the lake, sing songs, play sports, and play fun camp games. I can’t wait to go back next year!” said Garver. Many see camp as a nice getaway to meet new people, reconnect with old friends, and experience a new environment.
Involvement in local employment and volunteer programs kept many students occupied. Summer Playground is a Lynbrook-run summer camp that many students partake in each summer. Students under 16 volunteer to watch younger kids from kindergarten through eighth grade from 9 am to 12 pm, Monday through Friday. They get community service hours that count towards school requirements; when volunteers turn 16, they then have an opportunity to get paid. “I have worked with fourth graders this past summer and loved it. The kids were so nice and so were the counselors. Everyone made it so fun,” sophomore David Aragona said.
While many students were enthralled in Summer Playground fun, others chose to work in the restaurant business, or even do both. “I worked at River Mill while also volunteering at Summer Playground. I really loved working and volunteering… it was the perfect balance between being able to make money while also giving back to the community,” senior Geneveive Dellacona explained.
Senior John-Paul D’Agostino gave back on a larger scale this summer, devoting his time to completing his Eagle Scout project. “I realized a lot of elderly might have trouble with the stairs outside,” he explained. To help fix this issue, he set up a GoFundMe to raise money to build ramps, garnering more than $1,000, when his target goal was only $900. He recalled how fortunate he was to have such great support throughout his project: “It took a week to complete, and I was sometimes working on it for seven or eight hours per day. I had a lot of different volunteers within the local scouting community and also a couple Key Club volunteers helped me. I was really impressed with how the project turned out and the support I received.”
While a majority of students choose to stay home or go on vacations over the summer, senior Sayge Rolnick was an exception. Rolnick attended a two week long “Summer Challenge” program at Boston University in July. “I took classes in Visual Arts and Abnormal Psychology, lived in the Warren Tower dorms, ate at the Marci dining hall, and attended activities set up by the program like shopping at Wrentham Outlets,” Rolnick explained. The program creates an unforgettable experience by bringing interests and dreams to reality through seminars and achievement.
