Ask an Advisor

by Dana Meyers

Our “Ask an Advisor” column allows UF advisors to share their viewpoint and experiences regarding advising or just life in general.  We recently asked some advisors to answer the following question:

In recalling spring breaks past, what’s a favorite memory?

During my undergraduate years, I always worked full time at Old Navy to earn extra money.  However, when I was a graduate student, I purposefully took spring break off from both school and work to decompress from the first half of the semester and mentally prepare myself for the second half.  This “time off” included visiting family, planned shopping trips to the outlets with friends, and going to St. Augustine.  Holly Turner Moses, Health Education & Behavior

I was born and raised in Michigan—my grandparents and various relatives lived in the Tampa Bay Area.  Over the years we travelled to Florida as a family for Spring Break.  In high school and college I continued the tradition, driving the distance with best friends.  No Daytona Beach hotels for us, though.  We always stayed with family in Indian Rocks Beach, Largo, Clearwater Beach, and Dunedin.  Even though my relatives passed away years ago, it’s still my favorite vacation destination.  Since moving to Florida almost 18 years ago, I’ve been able to visit the area throughout the year—now I don’t have to wait for Spring Break!  Judy Hunter, Journalism and Communications

As a college student, my breaks were usually spent camping with friends as I couldn’t really afford to go on big trips. However, my best Spring Break memories are as a parent, taking trips with my own family. My favorite Spring Break vacation was a week-long cruise with my family, sister, and parents to celebrate my father’s 75^th birthday. Cruise vacations are still one of our favorite ways to spend time together, but it’s a lot harder to coordinate schedules now with adult children who live far away!  Robin Snyder, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

It’s hard to narrow down my favorite memory of SB.  I could go with the cold beaches in mid-March, fighting spiders while kayaking through mangrove tunnels in the Keys, or stumbling across endless bear feces hiking through the Ocala National Forest (I swear they come to the trail just to relieve themselves!)  Without a doubt, my choice is the delightfully empty streets and empty seats that allow us to take a much needed break from the normal rush of campus life.  Barbi Barber, Environmental Engineering Sciences

If you are talking about when I was an undergraduate student... my favorite memory is something that did not happen.  Every spring break, I was invited to play in Madison Square Garden for March Madness NCAA basketball.  [I played cornet and was a member of the Syracuse University Sour Citrus Society . . .  “Go Orange!”]  And every March Madness week, I was unable to go play with the band because of mid-term exams, and the exams that came after March break. It was difficult that I could not attend, but I needed to study and graduate on time!  My advisor use to give me pep talks about this!  Karen Bray, Natural Resources and Environment