Summer School- it’s more fun than you think.

I’m going to be honest. When all my friends were heading home for summer, I thought I had made a huge mistake signing up for a summer class. After finals, literally the last thing I wanted to do was crack open another textbook.

But fortunately for me, this class didn’t involve a single textbook. In fact, the time I spent enrolled in Coastal Marine Environments class turned out to be two of the best weeks of my summer.

The class was held in Wachapreague, Virginia, a small fishing town about three hours from campus that is home to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) Eastern Shore Laboratory. Twelve students, four professors, and one TA all lived on site where we had direct access to the lab and research boats.

Packing a three credit course into two weeks is not easy. It means early mornings, long days, and very little free time. But it also means that you are completely submersed in the class material- I learned more in just two weeks in Wachapreague than I did all semester in some of my classes. And the fact that you sleep, eat and work alongside the professors and other students means you form bonds that far exceed the duration of the class.

We covered an unbelievable amount of material- varying from tidal variation and lunar cycles to plankton growth and fish biology. Each day, there were lectures in the morning, work in the field during the day and labs at night. But instead of being overwhelmed with the work, I was just fascinated.

The class taught me the difference between learning about science and doing science. I didn’t mind the hours in the field or the late night labs. I couldn’t get enough of it! We conducted experiments that other undergraduates only read about and gained extensive knowledge of lab and field techniques. In just two weeks, my interest in research bloomed into a full on obsession, and I have the professors to thank for that.  And I know I’ll continue to use the skills I learned in the class far beyond my undergraduate career.

Not so bad for summer school, huh?