As students fill Central’s halls, summer break officially comes to an end. Exciting stories of foreign experiences and discovered cultures can be heard throughout the school, as well as college visits and plans for the future.

Senior Connor Bierbaum visited three colleges over the summer: University of Central Arkansas, Georgetown University, and Hendrix College. After Boys State at UCA and Governor’s School at Hendrix, Connor decided that UCA was his favorite college.

“Boys State was a great experience; it really changed the way I thought about UCA’s campus, and I am definitely thinking about applying there,” Connor said.

Sophomore Addy Evans visited McCall, Idaho for a week and later flew to California to see her cousins.

“Idaho was so much fun!” Addy said. “It’s so underrated. There were huge mountains and lakes and lots of forest. Plus the town was super cute.”

While she was in Idaho, she swam in the lake near her house and did a lot of shopping in the town.

“Sometimes I would go swim in the lake before everyone was awake. It was really cold at first but after I got past the cold it felt good,” Addy said.

A week after she came back to Little Rock, she left for Lafayette, California. Addy and her cousin Zelda first went to a music festival where Addy and Zelda got full body temporary tattoos. Later during the trip, Addy got her ears pierced a second time. After that they went to the famous Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and spent hours on their favorite ride, a tower called the Double Shot.

“The first time we rode it I was super scared. It was tall and intimidating, but my cousin finally convinced me to ride it,” Addy said. “There were a lot of rides but we only rode a few of them because they were so scary. I would definitely go back.”

Senior Amelia Mcarthur went to Boston, Massachusetts for four days and visited Harvard. While she was there, she walked around the campus and visited with students who were there over the summer.

“It was a super nice campus, but I’m not sure if it’s where I really want to go yet,” Amelia said.

Amelia also left the country to go to Guatemala and Belize. While she was in Belize she went snorkeling, ziplining, and cave tubing.

“We ate lots of native food, and it was really good. Belize was probably my favorite trip because I got to experience a whole new culture,” Amelia said.

For these students, summer break was a time when they could learn about the world outside of where they live and enjoy new places and cultures. These experiences will stay with them throughout their life and will ultimately affect their futures.