Today marks the beginning of Summer II, a 3-week semester that a lot of CEP students look forward to all year. During Summer II, students get to venture out on the overnight trips that they planned during Summer Session I. This year, we have four different exciting overnight trips planned entirely by our students: one group is headed off to Wildwood Beach in NJ; another is headed to Camelback Resort in the Poconos; our third group will be leaving next week for Dorney Park in Pennsylvania; and last but certainly not least, our fourth group will be visiting the city of brotherly love: Philadelphia, PA!
We are very proud of all of the hard work that our students put into developing their trips. As anyone who has ever planned a vacation must know, it’s tough work! During their Trip Planning Class in Summer Session I, students learned and practiced many new skills, including:
- Developing a budget and choosing a trip locale and activities based on a budget
- How to use resources to locate, choose and book a hotel
- Addressing questions to the hotel operator or front desk clerk over the phone
- Weighing the importance of hotel amenities versus the overall cost of the hotel
- Determining how much to budget for gas and tolls
- Finding special discounts and group rates
- The art of compromising with others to ensure that everyone gets to do something that they enjoy
- …and many, many other skills!
All our CEP students have promised me that they will take lots of photos while they are on their trips to send to me to be posted to the blog!
When students are not away on their 2-3 night trips, they will have a choice of day trips and activities to engage in each day. It’s a great time; students enjoy a break from academia and there are tons of opportunities for socializing and getting out there in the community. Summer II is also a fantastic introduction to all of the terrific resources we have in our area that are free or low-cost so that once our students graduate from CEP, they know how to get out there on their own to have some fun!
Want to see what we’re up to? Click on the attachment below (Summer II 2015 – Student) to have a look at our Summer II Schedule!
What comes after graduation? Many College Experience students, in fact most, choose to remain in Albany. They maintain friendships with their fellow and former graduates, form romantic partnerships, and some get married.