Summer is approaching, and students are preparing to spend their few months off of school all over the world traveling, studying, getting married, volunteering, interning, working or leaving to serve missions.
“I leave to study abroad to Jerusalem in just a few weeks,” said Ali Noorda, a junior studying public relations. “I’m super excited and can’t wait to spend four months abroad. A lot of my friends will be here during the spring and summer semesters taking classes or working, and I think they’ll have a blast too.”
BYU offers 133 study abroad programs in 55 countries — one of the largest study abroad programs in the nation. Matt Tannyhill, a freshman preparing to serve a mission, will be studying abroad in Australia and New Zealand before he leaves.
“I’m excited to spend some time traveling with kids my age before I leave on my mission,” Tannyhill said. “This study abroad sounds really awesome, and I’d rather be traveling than at home working.”
With the ever increasing number of missionaries serving around the world, the BYU freshmen dorms are clearing out for the summer.
“This summer I am serving an LDS mission in Hungary, Budapest,” said Meg Whittaker, a freshman studying communications. “There’s honestly nothing else I’d rather be doing — I cannot wait to start my mission this May.”
Another popular option for BYU students is spending the spring semester taking classes and enjoying the laid-back schedule and then leaving Provo for the summer semester to go home or to travel.
“I’m going to be in Provo, and then I’ll be traveling around Europe with my parents and then by myself for a while,” said McCall Mishler, a junior studying journalism. “I’m really excited to get out of Provo and travel around the world.”
While many students get to spend their summers traveling, studying abroad and serving missions, many students are choosing to complete internships and work over the summer. Internships and jobs often lead students to move to new areas, make new friends and gain experience while earning some money.
“This summer I’m moving to New York City, where I will be doing a merchandising internship for a fashion company,” said Alexandra Hild, a junior studying marketing. “I’m looking forward to spending the summer with a lot of my friends and fiancé and gaining some work experience.”
