© 2024 | WUWF Public Media
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL 32514
850 474-2787
NPR for Florida's Great Northwest
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

UWF Students Reflect On Summer

University of West Florida

With fall s'mester just around the corner, students at the University of West Florida only have a few weeks left to make the most of what’s left of their summer vacay. I took a walk around the campus and asked the handful of students I could find how they had been spending their summer so far.

David Giampa will be a junior this fall and is studying maths and economic. Outside of class and his job as a tutor in the maths lab on campus. He says he hasn’t been up to much. 

“It was pretty laid back, didn’t really do anything you know like really exciting but it just wasn’t anything really stressful either.”

Giampa adds that he did manage to work in a little late night activity too.

“You know, it depends on the night,” Giampa says. “Like, I only have class two days a week. So on Wednesday night I’ll usually go outs. Tonights I’ll probably go out to Seville.”

Like Giampa, a good portion of other students at UWF also stayed in towns over summer break.

One of these students was Krystyn Stockbridge. Shes be going into her senior year as a student this fall. She says that between her two summer classes and volunteering at the Pensacola Museum of Art, her hands are pretty full.

“I’ve done a little volunteer work over at the art museum downtown. But other than that...”

When asked what it’s been like at the Pensacola Museum of Art this summer, Stockbridge said she’s loved it but that it can also get a bit hectic at times.

“Real busy busy,” Stockbridge says. “Avoiding disaster, because we have a Lego exhibit right now, so when too many people get into the room you get a little nervous.”

Kim Cole, a friend of Stockbridge and fellow major, says she stayed busy but didn’t let that stop her from taking a break to have some fun of her own.

“I am a camp counselor for the Adventure Argo Kids Camp here. And when I’m not in class I’m working. And also I went to Harry Potter world.”

For those who may not be up to date on all things Harry Potter, myself included, Kim pointed out that Harry Potter World has two main locations, Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios in Orlando. 

She went to both and said “it was amazing.”

While these students stayed in Florida, others were able to find their way out of the country. One of these students was Taylor Price, a junior majoring in sports management.

Price spent the first couple weeks of his summer spending time with family, but then he went on a 10-day missions trip to the city of Brusque, Brazil. 

“We went down their doing sports missions,” Price says. “I played basketball down in Brazil for 10 days.” 

At the end of their trip, which included visiting schools and sharing with the kids about Jesus Christ, Price says they held a big event in the Town Square. He says that seeing all the kids he had hung out and shared the gospel with over the past week or so pour into the town square was something he won’t soon forget.

“It was a life changing experience, that’s for sure.”

Of course leaving the country works two ways, and in the case of Ella Peshkova, it meant leaving Russia to come to the United States. Peshkova is working towards a biology degree as part of her pre-dental courses. She says so far her summer has been a good one.   

“I took a couple classes,” Peshkova says. “I also went to the springs. It’s called Blue Springs. It was pretty cool because the water was cold and the weather was perfect. I was pretty excited.”

In the fall she has a full load of classes coming her way, so for the remainder of summer she says she plans to take it easy.

“I will go to the beach, have some fun, that’s it.” 

Classes for the upcoming fall semester at UWF start August 25. For many students though, again myself included, this will be the last summer break they get, as they head out into the “real world” in pursuit of a career in their field of study. 

Then again, there is always the allure of diving deeper into debt and continuing on to graduate school…