As another school year comes to a close, talks of summer plans have begun to circulate both on and off campus. Some students will be going away to exotic locations with family and friends, while others may be attending sleepaway camps or staying home to enjoy summer life in Lynbrook. While all of these options sound like fun, there are a few students who are choosing to take exceptionally interesting trips.

Junior Elise Candreva will be taking a journey to Africa this summer to volunteer by helping underprivileged children get the medical help they need. “I am going to Nigeria to volunteer for two weeks. I’m going with a group called Mercy Medical Missions. I’m going with a team of doctors who are going to perform surgery on children whose families can’t normally afford to pay to see a doctor,” she stated, describing her plans.

Along the same lines, I will be traveling abroad to offer help in an underdeveloped country. I will be traveling with a group of volunteers to Kyrgyzstan, a country in Central Asia bordering China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. I will be spending two weeks (August 2-12) helping at several orphanages. Many of these orphans suffer from mental or physical disabilities and need special care. So, aside from taking care of the children, the group and I will teach the caretakers new techniques for cleaning, cooking, and caring for the children, while also evaluating the children for a medical team that will arrive about two weeks after we leave.

Some students are furthering their education while school is out of session. When asked about her summer plans, sophomore Izzy Weiss said, “I’m not doing anything too awesome this summer, but I applied to a few writing institutes held at colleges. I got into a few and chose to go to the Bard College Young Writers’ Institute and NYS Summer Young Writers Institute at Skidmore College. Skidmore is a one-week program taking place from June 24 until July 6. Its focus is on poetry, fiction, and other forms of creative writing. We even take a weekend trip to Great Escape.” Immediately after the first program ends, Weiss will head straight to Bard from July 8-28. They both focus on creative writing, but Bard seems to have a more relaxed campus.

Junior Sam Cohen will be broadening his view of the world when he travels to Iceland and Greece for what is sure to be an unforgettable experience. He described his trip, saying, “I’m going on a teen tour to Iceland where I’m going to see glaciers, geysers, volcanoes, hot springs, and lava fields. The trip is pretty ‘naturey,’ so I’m going to do stuff like rafting, cave exploring, whale watching, and hiking. The teen tour also goes to Greece where I’m going to go SCUBA diving in Naxos, kayaking in Santorini, and tour the historical sites in Athens. I’m really excited to see the beautiful landscapes in Iceland but also to get to relax and be in the sun in Greece.”

So, no matter what this summer has in store for students, remember to stay safe, responsible, and seize the day while it lasts because in the blink of an eye, it will be September again.