What Centre people are up to this summer: Part 3

RELEASED: August 7, 2008

DANVILLE, KY—While the summer days become fewer and fewer, Centre College students are spending their vacations in a variety of places, engaging in innumerable activities--stretching their legs and minds, enhancing their experiences and their bank accounts. Here are just a few ways in which students are spending their summers. (Check out Part 1 and Part 2!)

Sadie Allen, junior, Dublin, Ohio: Liz Starr and I both attended the Olympic Trials for swimming in Omaha, Nebraska. It was an amazing feeling to be there and an incredible experience to watch Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff swim. We also saw world records broken which was unbelievable. Other than that, I've been coaching a summer league swim team and training so I can be in shape for next swim season.

Jacob Edwards, sophomore, Columbia, Ky.: This summer I’ve been privileged to work with leading physicians in South Central Kentucky at Taylor Regional Hospital. I received a summer internship that allows me to shadow surgeons in their office and observe them in the operating room. I’ve also shadowed an anesthesiologist at the hospital and gained an appreciation of their profession. The internship also has given me a great opportunity to work with one of Kentucky's leading pathologists. However, most of my time is spent in the operating room, observing various procedures, such as laparoscopic appendectomies, laparoscopic cholectomies (gallbladder), removal of cancerous tissues on organs (kidneys, colon, skin), tonsillectomy, and cystopic and endoscopic procedures, as well. I set up for surgery and help transport the patient to the operating room. However, the most rewarding part of this internship (other than standing side-by-side with surgeons) is working in the recovery room with children who have had tonsillectomies or teeth removal, being able to calm them when they wake up from anesthesia and carrying them to their worry-stricken parents. When they see you with their child they’re overcome with relief.

Also this summer I have a job working at an urologist office part-time. My job entails running urinanalysis and taking blood pressure and temperature of patients. With this opportunity to work with urologists and to see the rewarding job of a physician, I can say that I have no doubts of becoming a physician.

Brad Erickson, senior, Owensboro, Ky.: I spent six weeks living with missionaries along the coastal cities of Montevideo, Colonia del Sacramento and Maldonado in Uruguay. No two days were ever the same. My jobs ranged from spending time with kids to serving coffee in a coffee house to sharing my testimony in several house churches. It was an incredible time, and my only regret was not being able to stay longer. I made several new friends and was also able to improve my Spanish by leaps and bounds.

Mariel Smith, sophomore, Orlando: I've been volunteering at Woodford Equine Hospital in Versailles for the past few weeks. Basically I sit in on horse surgeries or ride along with vets of various specialties to horse farms around Lexington and Versailles. It's been a great way to gain some experience in the veterinary field, which I plan on entering.

Blanche Hill, sophomore, Lafayette, La.: I spent the month of July at Camp Nakanawa in Crossville, Tenn. I was a cabin counselor and the head of the running program. As a running instructor, I taught girls whose ages ranged from 13 to 17 the importance of physical fitness. My co-instructors and I concentrated on making sure that each individual camper saw personal improvement. This was accomplished by separating each running class into three categories that catered to the needs of Beginner, Distance, and Competitive runners. The fruits of our labors were recognized by the end of the summer by the 5k that we organized as a final event.

Michael Henry, senior, Maryville, Tenn.: In June, I led a delegation of four American 15-year olds to a three-week summer camp in Molndal, Sweden, through an organization called Children's International Summer Villages (CISV). It's a nonprofit, nonpolitical, nonreligious organization whose aim is to foster global friendships, peace education and leadership training. There were nine delegations at the camp from Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Thailand and the United States. It was a life-changing experience, and I've come home with some amazing memories and some incredible friendships.

Martha Pratt, sophomore, Monticello, Ky.: From June 11-14, I went to Memphis for the St. Jude Collegiate Leadership Seminar to network with other Up 'Til Dawns from other campuses and collect ideas for our own organization. Hopefully some of the suggestions and ideas for raising awareness from some of the most successful Up 'Til Dawn organizations can and will be put into action this year (or at least in the near future). It was a wonderful trip/seminar; I got to tour the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and hear some of their patients talk about living with their conditions. Hearing their stories made me even more passionate and determined to raise awareness of the cause on our campus.

Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.