How Barnard Students Spent Their First College Summer Break
The seemingly long summer break passed by so fast, and rising sophomores have all returned to Barnard with their fresh summer memories. Apart from some relaxing time to relieve exhaustion and celebrate the completion of our first year at Barnard (hooray!), many first-year students also spent these three and a half months in exciting summer programs provided by Barnard. In this post, I want to share some sophomores’ experiences during the past summer and why they chose them to spend their first summer break in college. You can also find more information by clicking on the program title linked to related websites.
Yonsei International Summer School
“I spent my summer at the summer program of Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, and I think it was the best summer I’ve ever had. After taking first year Korean language class at Columbia, I wanted to learn more about Korean language and culture, so I decided to go to this program. I took a language class, which helped me get into third year Korean this semester, and a contemporary Korean cinema class for my East Asian Studies minor. I had so much fun exploring the city of Seoul, and I was able to travel around in Korea during the weekends. This summer affirmed my thoughts about studying abroad in Korea as a junior, and I can’t wait to go back.” ——Sylvia
Translating Theatre Workshop in Paris
“This summer, I spent a month studying in Paris taking a Barnard class called Translating Theatre! The class was bilingual, with us reading plays in French and translation theory texts in English. We were able to see performances of all the plays we were reading in different Parisian theaters, and we had the option of going to additional performances, which was incredibly enriching. There were many excursions that our class took as a group, and I had a great time exploring Paris and the greater Île-de-France region. Even though the program only lasted for a short month, my listening and reading comprehension improved in a way that can only be the cause of immersion learning!” ——Jasmine
“I spent my summer taking courses at Columbia University, which to some people may seem like a woeful way of spending a perfectly rare vacation, but to me, it was incredibly stimulating. I was not only learning about Buddhist dharma, differential calculus, and the statistics of flipping a coin, but I was finally able to better explore the city of New York with my best friend. We made new culinary discoveries, met up with my college friends, visited New Jersey, walked along High Line, imitated dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum… at the same time, I felt like I was completing my academic requirements, gaining knowledge, and progressing forward in my intellectual pursuits. My summer allowed me to come back to my fall semester at Barnard feeling productive, prepared for another rigorous year, and ready to engage with this metropolis of endless opportunities even more!” ——Jo
Summer Research Institute at Barnard
“This summer I attended the Summer Research Institute program (SRI). Guided by Professor JJ Miranda, I sequenced and analyzed the RNA sequence of the bacteria Vibrio natriegens, which is the fastest known replicating bacteria. I see biology as my potential major, therefore, I wanted to learn more about the actual experience of working and doing research in this field. SRI provided the perfect opportunity for me to experience and learn what actual researchers in the field do on a daily bases. With this experience, I now have a clearer picture of what the field of biology research looks like, and gained more familiarity with processes of research and mythology. These skills are all going to be great tools for me to apply in my future researches.” ——Maggie
I hope this article is helpful to all of you who wonder how your summer at Barnard can be. You can find more about Barnard faculty-led summer programs here and other summer programs to consider here!