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Sophomore AEP major Rhonda Dill drives a nail into the truss of a Habitat
for Humanity home during spring break in Crystal River, Fla. Dill was one
of several students who strayed from the traditional spring break
routine. Photo by Jill Dorjath.
The legendary spring break trip is a time of mass hedonism in a tropical climate; some Bradley students, however, broke with this tradition and journey to unusual destinations.
For most Bradley students, probably the only screwdriver they came in contact with last week was the potent liquid variety. But for 14 Habitat for Humanity members who volunteered in Crystal River, Fla., last week, a screwdriver was just one of the tools they used to help build houses for underprivileged people.
Sophomore nursing major and Habitat member Colleen Bennett said one of the best parts of the trip was when the group took time out from their work to meet the family for whom they were building.
"[The mother was] a very interesting lady, and she's had a hard life," Bennett said. "I was glad we could do that for her."
Another plus for the trip was its blend of the best of both worlds--using their breaks to help others while still getting to enjoy the Florida sunshine.
In fact, Bennett said many people in the group caught a few too many rays during their time off at the beach. All in all, though, she said, "It was a good trip, very successful."
Some students, meanwhile, missed sunshine altogether during their trips. While break usually is the time for sun-starved college students to migrate southward toward the heat, junior biology Kristi Nix witnessed a migration of a different sort.
Nix traveled to the not-so-warm Grand Island, Neb., with biology professor Barb Frase and some other students. They observed the yearly migration of thousands of sandhill cranes to the area.
Nix and her fellow observers got up at 4:30 each morning to trek out to a blind in the chilly fields. There--as the group would watch and the sun would rise--thousands of birds flew into the sky, their wings flapping in unison and making a drum-like reverberation.
"You can feel it (the wings) beat as the birds take off," she said.
Despite the cold, Nix called these her favorite moments and said they are partly why she has no regrets about her decision to take an out-of-the-ordinary spring break trip.
"I thought it was kind of a stupid thing to do over break until I got there," she said. "It was really indescribably beautiful."
Junior political science and history major Heather Vinton also had an unusual spring break experience.
Vinton bid "cheerio" to the States and "hullo" to jolly old England. She and her mother spent the week of break in London, taking in such sites Buckingham Palace and Big Ben.
By far the highlight of the trip for Vinton was fulfilling her "lifelong goal" of seeing the musical "Les Miserable" performed on the London stage.
And the worst part of her international experience? "That I had to come back--I just wanted to stay there. People there were so wonderful and so nice and laid-back," she said.
Vinton added that she's glad she had the opportunity to visit England rather than doing the usual spring break vacation fare.
"This was a more cultural experience than sitting on the beach and frying and making my skin all wrinkled," she said.
Besides, Vinton added, "I'll probably go bake next year."