The diverse ways Northview students spend their summers

Natalie Damer-Salas, Opinions Editor, and Nethra Pai, Staff Writer

The days are longer, the air warmer, and the academic motivation is waning: summer is here! While lounging at home and soaking in every second of extra sleep one can get sounds deserved, many students use this extra time to take advantage of opportunities they would otherwise not have time for during the school year. Now, with extra hours to focus on one’s preferred activity, students choose diverse activities to fill their time. 

Senior Joshua Do prefers spending his summers working. His first summer job was working at McDonald’s before his sophomore year, but he has since transitioned into interning for Fulton County IT - prepping computers for students next fall. Do chooses to work because of the opportunities it will give him for his future career.

“Getting a job nowadays, I've seen these tree diagrams where people apply to like, 500 jobs and only get one interview,” Do said. “I think having experience when you are young is pretty important for when you get into college. So it'll be easier to find an internship at a reputable company like Google.” 

Do prioritizes working during the summer as he believes it is best to advance yourself when you have all of that time on your hands rather than simply sitting at home. Do found the application to the IT internship through Mr. Platt, Northview’s engineering teacher, and encourages other students who are interested in finding work during the summer to ask Ms. McCall, the Work Based Learning and Business teacher, or their CTAE teacher.

Sophomore Kinley Olivo also chooses to work during her summer months but in a more sports-oriented setting. Olivo has been swimming for 10 years and grew up swimming for her neighborhood’s swim team, the Shakerag Sharks, so she always knew that she wanted to coach that team. Last year was her first year coaching and she will coach again this summer. 

“My favorite part is definitely making connections with little kids and being able to see them fall in love with the same sport that I’ve liked because I've been on the same team,” Olivo said.

Olivo finds that there are multiple benefits to her job. Not only is she able to continue playing the sport she loves and learning to communicate with adults effectively and professionally, but she also enjoys teaching her students.

“I love working with kids. You build these relationships with these little kids and they're so much smarter than you think,” Olivo said. “It's just so cool to see a person grow so much in the span of two months.”

Sophomore Annabella Shenoy enjoys traveling, and she has traveled to 11 countries, including Korea, Australia, and Iceland. Since her dad works at Delta, Shenoy is able to travel for free. She loves experiencing the different cultures and customs that each country has to offer.

“[I love] being with the different cultures and just exploring and doing something that's just different, like breaking out from the norm,” Shenoy said. “It's really cool seeing, [and] this might sound dumb, but how some cultures drive on different sides of the road. It's just something different.”

One of Shenoy’s favorite places to visit was Australia. While she was there, she saw popular sites like the Aborigine Rock, Uluru, and the Sydney Opera House. While she understands that her ability to travel is a privilege, she still hopes that everyone gets the opportunity to travel.

“I think it's important [to travel], especially if you don't live in a diverse area because I think it's important to be exposed to different cultures of all backgrounds, and see social norms that are different from your own because we can get so accustomed to the way we live,” Shenoy said. “By seeing other cultures, you realize that it's much more of a gray area, that there isn't [necessarily] a right way or wrong way to do certain things.”

This summer, there are countless ways to spend time, whether by working, traveling, or even just hanging out with friends. As the school year transitions to summer break, students are taking advantage of the extra free time to do what they love.