By Anais Hernandez, August 30,2022
Summer vacation is what most college students look forward to all semester, especially with COVID-19 restrictions being lifted.
As summer break ends, nearly 29,000 students welcome a new academic year at Cal Poly Pomona. Whether their vacation involved catching up on sleep, relaxing, traveling or building up their resume, one thing is for sure, all students had a summer story to share.
Juliana Murillo | political science student
“This summer I spent almost a month in Costa Rica visiting my family and getting my full Costa Rican citizenship. I also had the opportunity to travel around the country, so it was a good relaxing trip to start off this academic year. I’m excited about being on campus… it’s the first time seeing (CPP) completely open. I’m working as an RA this year, so it is fun to experience the first-year jitters with first-year students since I didn’t experience that and mentoring and giving them advice.”
Leslie Batista | animal science student
“I spent a lot of time with my family. I got the chance to visit family from Mexico, so it was fun to be with them again. I also spent time with my horse, went out in the mountains to ride him and mostly took advantage of the free time before school started. I’m excited to dive in and learn about what I’m interested in… it’s my opportunity to learn about animal science.”
Andrew Su | economics student
“Over the summer, I went on vacation with my friends…I went to Hawaii and Las Vegas. As a transfer student, I am most excited about meeting new people because I’m from the Bay Area and it’s different.”
Ashley Liang | teaching credential graduate student
“I did some internships and I worked on my online business. I’m excited about being in-person and having classes face-to-face instead of online since this is my first time having (classes)face-to-face since the pandemic hit.”
Leonardo Francisco | mechanical engineering student
“Over the summer, I’ve been hanging out with some high school friends. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to make any new friends (in college) due to COVID, but this academic year I hope to make lots of new friends as I did in high school.”
Raneen Vace | political science student
“I went to many amusement parks and hung out with friends, and I think I’m most excited about being back in person and seeing campus so lively and full of energy. As the College of Letters, Arts & Social Sciences senator, I’m excited to see our work come to life. It’s exciting but nerve-wracking too.”
Saleemah Ahmed | mechanical engineering student
“I’m a part of the rose float program on campus, so we participate in the Pasadena Rose Parade every year and it’s completely student-led. I’m on the leadership team, which took over most of my summer and I also took an asynchronous summer class. I’m excited because this year, I’m on the board of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers club on campus. We have a lot of fun events that we have planned, and I’m excited about meeting other engineering students.”
Nathalie Ramos | sociology student
“I spent time with my family before coming to college. I’m most excited about meeting new people and being able to get out there — out of my comfort zone and learning about new stuff.”
David Perez | visual communication design student
“Over the summer, I just looked at Cal Poly Pomona’s resources to familiarize myself with them. I also went through orientation and then I pretty much kept up to date with emails. I’m looking forward to meeting new friends because I want to socialize and hopefully enjoy my classes.”
Ulisses Vazquez| applied math and statistics student
“I worked full time over the summer because I had two jobs and currently own a company. If I were to be excited about something, it’s that I’m about to be done (with college). I only have six more classes to go through, so I’m excited about that.”
Feature image courtesy of Raphaël Biscaldi
