People are kicking their summer plans into gear as we finish the last few weeks of the school year. Summer is a great time to expand your horizons and try new things, and that’s what many BHS students plan to do! Whether it’s working, traveling, or spending their summer at camp, students have great plans lined up. I talked to freshman Stella Peters, sophomore Sophia Fortune-Ball, and junior Brandon Levine to hear about some summer plans at Berkley.
To kick off the summer fun, Peters shared her busy plans. She will be working at the Huntington Woods Pool, swimming for the Huntington Woods swim team (HWAC), and taking a few road trips! Peters explained, “This is my first year as a lifeguard, and I am super excited!” She continued, “I wanted to work at the pool, so I could spend more time outside and meet new people. I know lLifeguarding is a hard job, but the work definitely pays off.” Peters shared that “a lot of time went into receiving [her] certification.” ToIn order to get certified, lifeguards must complete a lot of online work before taking the certification class. Peters attended three days of certification class. She shared, “I trained for five hours on Friday and then eight hours on both Saturday and Sunday.” Though it took a lot of time, her summers will now consist of fun in the sun!
Next, Sophia Fortune-Ball informed me of her summer of music and travel! Fortune-ball will be travelling to France, Germany, and Luxembourg with the Blue Lake Symphony Orchestra. Fortune-Ball explained, “I did the Blue Lake summer camp for the past two years, and I loved it!” This amazing experience pushed her to take on the opportunity to travel with the camp. Fortune-Ball described her intense summer, “The day school gets out, I leave to go to the west side of the state where there will be an intensive week with practice.” A week later, they will “leave from Chicago and fly to Paris.” She continued, “We will be staying with host families in different cities and performing concerts.” All of this will add up to spending three weeks in Europe. Fortune-Ball has many talents; on top of being a fabulous Cello player for orchestra, once she gets home she will be attending band camp. Fortune-Ball has an exciting music-filled summer ahead of her!
Lastly, Brandon Levine, who will be returning to Tamarack Camps for his tenth summer. Levine is clearly a huge fan of Tamarack camps, while he loves the place, he shared, “I continue to go back year after year because of the people.” It’s true, the people always make the place ten times better. But, this summer will look quite different from years prior. In the past, he has been a camper and gone on Tamarack’s famous travel trips, but this year he will be in Teen Leadership Village (TLV). Levine explained, “TLV is a unique concept: half the time you are a camper and half of the time you are a counselor.” While Levine will be staying in a cabin with all of his best friends, he will still be assigned a group of kids to hang outhangout with during the day. That is why he is both a camper and a counselor. He remarked, “I am excited to hold some responsibility, but I am also excited to be back at camp with my best friends after a few years of being separated on different travel trips.” Once Levine gets home, he plans to work on “college applications, summer school work, and prepping for the fall soccer season.” Levine has a summer full of hard work and fun, and he could not be more excited to go back to his home away from home.
With only a short amount of time till that final bell rings, students are itching to get their summer plans in gear. Whether you are like Peters and you are working, like Fortune-Ball and traveling, like Levine and going to camp, or have other summer plans, I am positive that everyone will have a fun-filled summer break.
