A Long Summer

At the end of my first two hectic semesters at JMU, it was great to take a break and visit home. This summer I returned to campus early for a summer job that was also a great new and beneficial experience for me.

I returned to the US on July 4, which gave me the opportunity to enjoy the 4th of July celebrations in Washington, D.C. There is no better way to celebrate coming back!

During the summer I worked for one of the many camps for elementary, middle and high-school students that JMU hosts during the summer. It was a great opportunity to make extra money and have a great summer experience. In my role, I often helped campers learn from the many interesting science experiments and projects they conducted.

After three weeks, I had the opportunity to develop my own camp activity, which was a challenge for me, yet it turned out to be a great success. The campers and I built models of different monuments from around the world. I received great feedback coming from the campers, parents and my managers. It was a rewarding experience. I was very proud of our work.

During the last week of the summer, I completed some work that made me happy and a bit emotional at the same time. I served as the orientation leader for the a new group of international graduate students. Last year, that was me! My next blog will be about my experience welcoming new students.