For most high school students, summer vacation is a time to relax by the pool and enjoy what the summer has to offer.  Students at Saint Stephen’s, after a tough school year, try to make the most of their summers.  They seek some of the most interesting and diverse experiences imaginable.

Lane Barnes, for example, spent the majority of her summer at the beach, while Bobby Harrison passed time hanging out with his friends.  Dr. Anthou used his time to attend Cross Fit sessions and rediscover his love for tennis.  Evan Freuhauf perfected his waffle recipe, while Alexa Baroncelli took summer art classes at Ringling College of Art and Design.  Samantha Burgess worked as a waitress at Lily Ocean Star Sushi, but the really exciting part of her summer was getting a pet hedgehog.  Christel Gharby enjoyed touring Europe with her family and visiting her friends in Lebanon.  From new pets to world travels, our falcons did it all.  An especially popular trend for Saint Stephen’s Upper School students was to continue their learning outside of school, expanding their knowledge and skills while doing what they love to do.

Devon Sullivan, eleventh grade, demonstrated her love for the Spanish culture by leaving her family behind and embarking on a three-week adventure to Barcelona, Spain in the Summerfuel program.  There, she took classes in Spanish and explored the city.  Devon’s days consisted of three hour Spanish classes in the mornings followed by a lunch break and a two hour International Business elective.  During the afternoons, they went sightseeing and also had the option to sign up for a variety of trips.

Although she wasn’t totally happy with Summer Fuel, Devon enjoyed “going out and seeing new things that you can’t see in Bradenton.”  She had a few complaints about Summerfuel that made the trip less than ideal, but she managed to have a great time nonetheless.  “The program was very structured and did not allow as much free time as everyone wanted.  Also, I went to learn Spanish but my Spanish didn’t get any better.”

Sullivan made a lot of friends during her time in Spain.  “It was easy to get acclimated with the group,” she said, “because you have the common bond of being new with other people.”  Devon says that she would recommend going overseas to take in a new culture and try to learn a new language, but to consider going with a different program.

Senior, Ben Kalish, decided to pursue his love for theater this summer at a five-week theater arts program at Northwestern University.  Ben went on the recommendation of his college counselor, and quickly came to love it there.

“I love theater, and I love the creative process, so this was a clear choice for me.” Over the course of the program, Kalish said “ I was able to get in touch with my creative impulse, which I had found out I had totally lost.”  Ben’s favorite role was one where he played Arman, an alien in an average high school who had to go against his values and be mean to people in order to blend into society and keep his real identity secret.  Ben connected with this character because “he had a duality”: he fought his own morals against the image he was trying to portray as the typical high school teenager.

According to Ben, the most important aspect of theater is “bringing honesty to acting and learning how to embrace yourself in all situations.”  Ben described the program as an “utopian society” where everyone was accepted.  “Everyone there was crazy about acting, and no one was judgmental.”  Ben recommends this program to “anyone willing to explore their creative side.”

An especially adventurous duo of friends, sophomores Katie Siegel and Nupur Mathur went on an adventure that they won’t soon forget.  Nupur described their destination as “the exotic country of Costa Rica,” where they went for a mission trip dedicated to the conservation of sea turtles.  What surprised Katie the most about the experience was “seeing the giant patches of plastic bottles on the beaches, many with dead animals trapped inside, like you see in the videos.”

Nupur said she liked the group of people they traveled with because “there were no slackers on the trip.”  The benefit of going together, she said, “was skipping that awkward first moment of not knowing anyone there.”

Katie remarked that he trip gave her “a new appreciation for conservation,”  and Nupur added, “It was a fun experience to visit another country, try the different foods, the different smoothies, and experience a different culture.”