Sophomore Callie Maffett spent a few days in Italy this summer, exploring the bustling cities and touring the expansive countryside. Along with her family, she rode a gondola in Venice, dined by the Coliseum and visited the Trevi Fountain in Rome, and photographed the Italian Riviera coastline in Cinque Terre.

As she looked back on her trip, she noted that it was a wonderful learning experience for her and her family. “It was an amazing experience because I got to see a lot of different culture in Europe and I got to see different aspects of life,” Maffett said.

Sophomore Philip Woford went to Europe as well, but his flight landed in Madrid, Spain. While in Spain, he and his family made sure to stop by Plaza Mayor, and appreciate Spanish art at El Prado, both located in central Madrid. They also visited Alicante, the capital of its self-titled province and a port city, Barcelona, and Toledo, where the swords for the Lord of the Rings movies were crafted.

Junior Christina Kinder spent almost a week in the jungle in Chocola, Guatemala, with only two days worth of running water. “It was kinda tough showering, and I felt really gross but we spent, like, five days there, doing surgeries, and helped people, and we visited the town around there, and we saw some Mayan Ruins. It was pretty cool,” Kinder said.

Freshman Jan Carlos Riefkohl spent a week of his Christmas break at home in sunny Puerto Rico, spending time with friends and family. He then traded the warm island air for a trip to snowy Utah for some more family time. While they were there, he and his family took advantage of the weather and tried out snowboarding and other winter sports.

Also in the States, Sophomore Abby Sklar received a last-minute surprise trip to Los Angeles, CA. And as if visiting the celebrity-filled city wasn’t enough, her parents surprised her and her sister with tickets to the American Music Awards! “It was really cool to see the behind-the-scenes stuff. It was also really cool to see some of my favorite artists live because I really enjoy music,” Sklar said.

On the opposite American coast, Sophomore Grant Shapiro flew to New York to visit his recently-fathered brother and celebrate becoming an uncle. He experienced some nostalgia when he got to see his grandparents, whom he hadn’t seen in almost two years, and his childhood home. Later, he and his family traipsed around New York City.

Sophomore Emily Edwards spent a few days in Rome’s sister city, Ueki, Japan on an exchange trip. Through this international student exchange, the two cities switch out ten kids for ten days. She stayed with a host family in Ueki for a week. They took her to a live volcano, which they were forced to leave because of noxious sulfuric gas in the air, and many temples, which she was yelled at for photographing. “We went to a museum on Hiroshima and that was really interesting. Like, being an American for that museum was crazy and you feel, like, really guilty,” Edwards said.