After over a full year of the coronavirus pandemic and the winter weather that recently hit Texans hard, students across campus are eager for a break. It’s been a long year and a mental health break is needed, but students had to keep public health guidelines in mind when enjoying their time off. All things considered, Canfield BHPers were able to make the best of their spring break– a small group of roommates spent a few days at the beach, students involved in Texas 4000 for Cancer went on a camping trip, and another tight-knit friend group took a visit to Miami.
Roommates Nivva Emmi, Lexi Thorson, Amy Cox, and Andrea Ocañas traveled to Port Aransas for the majority of the week where they’ve been enjoying the beach and quality time together. As seniors ready to graduate, they wanted to do something outside of Austin but stay COVID-safe in the process.
“We’ve been staying in an Airbnb and cooking all of our food because even though we’re vaccinated we want to be completely self-sufficient for the safety of people around us,” Nivva said. “The beach has been super nice and we were originally concerned with how many people might be out, but there’s basically a silent understanding between everyone that everyone will get their own little patch of the beach.”
Similar to Nivva and her roommates, Canfield BHP seniors Riley Steward, Denver Baumgartner, and Ronen Melloul wanted to experience their last spring break outside of Austin with their closest friends. The trio traveled to Florida together and spent their time exploring new spaces.
In addition to spending a few days in Florida, Riley and other Canfield BHP seniors in Texas 4000 for Cancer, Celesia Smith and Morgan Grosch, spent three days training for their bike ride to Alaska and practicing strict public health guidelines. From Saturday to Monday, these three students and their 2021 team rode over 170 miles and camped each night– an experience that served as a sneak peek to the 70-day, 4,500-mile ride to come this upcoming summer.
Whether it be visiting the beach, exploring a new state, or training for a 4,500-mile bike ride, Canfield BHP students certainly made the best of a covid-stricken spring break. The pandemic won’t last forever– as crazy as that might seem– and in future semesters students will hopefully be able to put thoughts of COVID-bubbles, double masking, and PCT testing far behind them.
As a parent of a senior Canfield BHPer, I know that these friendships have become families. I look forward to celebrating the Class of ‘21 in a few months and watching them continue to change the world. Hook’em 🤘