For many students here at Stan State summer can mean one of two things: Summer school or summer vacation. But what about the faculty and staff here on campus? Do they just power down and go into sleep mode until the fall semester starts? Or, do they spend their days with friends and family dreading the first day of class, good old “Syllabus Day”? Or, is there some secret third choice, an adventurous side of their lives that nobody would or could imagine?
For Dr. Veronica Dawson, Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication Studies, going out of town far from the boiling hot weather of the Central Valley was the goal. “I went to Prague, in the Czech Republic, and then we went to Budapest, in Hungary, after I went to my home country of Bulgaria and spent some time there,” Dawson said.
Dawson’s face lit up while telling of her adventures. “We climbed some mountains and did the thermal baths, which were fantastic,” she said.
Now that the semester is back in session, so is Dr. Dawson, but she has exciting news to share. “I am waiting to hear back on an article that I am trying to get published, and, if it publishes, it will be in a big journal, so that’s really nice. And I’m planning another conference travel in November in Salt Lake City. Not as far, but very exciting,” Dawson said.
Some students on campus were too busy to travel this summer. Both Viona Bebeh (senior, Computer Science) and Monica Siara (senior, Liberal Studies) attended summer classes, which took up a majority of their vacation time.
Bebeh took a “Calc 1 class over the summer.” When her classes were all done, she went to Las Vegas to celebrate. She celebrated not only finishing class, but also her and her father’s birthday. Now that she’s back, she has hopes of “graduating next spring and to become a software engineer for Google or HP.”
Like Bebeh, Siara took a summer class and was feeling the stress from those compact courses. She decided to take intro to physics, which didn’t seem difficult to her in the beginning, but she soon realized the amount of work she had to put in. “It was hard because it was a four week course and each week there was a midterm,” said Siara. She went on to say that she passed her classes and hopes to keep this ball rolling throughout her fall semester. “I’m a senior with a major in liberal studies, so I’m really hoping I can pass this semester’s classes,” Siara said.
It seemed like Dr. Dawson was the only faculty member that had an interesting summer time adventure to tell until Tabbitha Zepeda (graduate, Dual Masters and Concentration in Rhetorical Writing) started to tell us about her life.
She recently got hired as the Assistant to the Dean in the College of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Department. Before getting hired with a nice office job, she recently had a side job to bring in additional revenue.
Zepeda said that she “actually worked as a professional clown” over her summer. “I know right!? ME. Usually my summers are a big peak to me since children ask for special appearances by clowns.” She laughed as she continued,“I know it’s something so unexpected from someone who works in an office job, especially for an Assistant to the Dean of this department.”
From trips to Budapest, to being a certified clown, it looked like the staff here on campus had a more enjoyable summer vacation than some of the students here on campus. Score: Staff one and students none, maybe next time Warriors.
For many other students at Stan State, their eyes were set on working hard to attain good grades this semester.

Christian Morais (freshman, Psychology) said that the biggest thing he did over the summer was attend basic training for the Army. He also said he wanted to make this semester the best semester he can and make his mom proud.

 
Evelyn Vega (junior, Biology) said she wants to pass all of her classes and wants to get another job for the semester that will help her pay off her tuition for school.

Rachel Schwartz (sophomore, Child Development) works in Enrollment Services in the Mary Stuart Rogers (MSR) building here on campus, and that’s what she did over the summer. Her goal for the semester is to get good grades and get this state organized.

 
Dalton Gehl (senior, Criminal Justice) said that his goal for this semester is “to get good grades and not stress out.”
Jose De La Torre (senior, Criminal Justice) said he wants to become a cop and support his family. “But, most of all, be my own man,” De La Torre said.

Leroy Coles (senior, Business Administration) said last summer he worked back home in Santa Barbara at his family’s Papa John’s and company called Flir in the human resources department. His educational goals for the semester are to pass classes. Looking to the future, he plans to learn more about public relations, specifically personal branding. “I hope that everyone at Stan has a good semester,” he said.

 
Yareli Ramirez (freshman, Liberal Studies) is starting her first year at Stan State. To prepare for the semester, she started early on classes and took a math class. Last summer, she attended Disneyland with her family and boyfriend because they were in the area for her aunt’s wedding. Her favorite class has been in the liberal studies subject area and she aims to pass her classes for the semester. 

Darrius Roland (senior, Criminal Justice, Forensic Science) said he wanted to focus on raising up his grade point average (GPA) this semester. “It’s been going up steadily, but I want to make sure it goes up higher, so my goal is to make it a 4.0 semester,” Roland said. Along with his academic goals, he will also be working towards saving up money for a new car after having an adventurous summer working as a chef for Whole Foods, going on a cruise to Mexico, visiting family in New Orleans and attending a music festival.

Oscar Pña (senior, Business) said before the semester began he was doing a lot of hiking. Now that the semester has begun, he plans to work towards achieving a 3.5 GPA to make it onto the Dean’s List. Like Pña, Edgar Cervantes (senior, Business) also plans on working towards getting on the Dean’s List. He said his summer vacation plans included going out of state to the city of Las Vegas.

President of Kappa Sigma Jack Sesto (senior, Organizational Communication) said, overall, that their goal for this semester is to rush over 50 people, promote further school support in campus pride and increase unity and community amongst their brothers. Other members of the fraternity include Morais, Gehl, Coles and Roland.

Dr. Nancy Burroughs furthered her professional development this summer by attending the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communications in Portland.

 
“My favorite part [of the summer] was going up to Idaho with my family,” said Dr. Rebekah Shrader. “I have a 16 month son, so he got to hang out with all the relatives and go camping.”
Dr. Shrader has also been working hard this summer to help coordinate the StanFresh program, where students can buy fresh vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers from the campus Sustainable Garden. Her personal goal for this semester is “continuing the balance of hanging out at home with my little guy.”

Dr. Andrew Conteh (Politics & Public Admin) said that this summer he was impressed by the department’s new Administrative Support Coordinator, Lisa Anderson. “She’s a hardworking person,” said Dr. Conteh. “She spent most of her summer here getting ready for the faculty.” Conteh said that this summer he was proud to “give moral support” for Lisa in her new position. His goal for the upcoming semester is to “be a better guy. Do a better job at what I do…keep improving until I die,” said Conteh.  

While some took the time to relax and unwind, many people like Anallely Andrade Calderon (Psychology Major Alumni) used their time this summer for something more meaningful. “I became a US citizen this summer.” she said, as she proudly showed off her certificate and United States flag that symbolize her achievement of civil status. 

Dr. Ed Erickson, professor of Economics, did what he does best this summer: Keep an eye on the economy! He said that the country’s economic status seemed to be on the up and up. 

 
Overall, Stan State’s faculty, staff, and students seem to have kept themselves busy this summer—whether it was an overseas vacation, a huge personal accomplishment, or passing a summer course. The campus community seems to share a common goal: To have a successful semester! Whether it’s passing all your classes, balancing school, work, and home life, or simply not stressing out, stay focused and centered this semester and you’re sure to succeed.