Fall break for Bluffton University was between Oct. 5 and Oct. 8, giving students a chance to catch up on sleep, spend time with their families and friends or just enjoy some fall festivities.
For senior Ciana Hostetler, this time was spent at home getting some extra work time in and then going to a local apple orchard where she got some fresh apple cider.
Junior, Aaron Rich also went to his hometown to spend time with family. Rich went shopping with his mom and then took his nephews to a corn maze to make some more quality memories.
Rich is one of the captains on the Bluffton University Men’s basketball team. Being a winter athlete means he does not get as long of a winter break, so he took advantage of having this short amount of time to get away from school and see his family.
Logan Tabler with her dog, Earl, photo courtesy Tabler
Logan Tabler, a junior volleyball player, was happy to get a few days of rest. Tabler traveled to her hometown of Greenville, Ohio, to celebrate one of her softball coaches getting married.
She was also able to see some friends and spend some time with her parents and dog, Earl.
Berlin Fuqua, junior and art major relaxed with some close friends and spent time on a personal independent study artwork.
“I used fall break to work on my independent study artwork,” said Fuqua. “The main subject of my artwork is a conversation with myself about gender identity, memory loss and letting go of a part of you that will stay with you forever in a small part but doesn’t define you.”
Junior Jules Fraser is a member of Marbeck Center Board, a group of students that plans a majority of the events that happen on campus.
This fall break, the MCB members went to Howard, Ohio, where they rented a house for two days. They wanted to come up with some new ideas for Monday bingo and Marbeck After Dark events while being in a new setting where they could get the chance to know the other members and bond with each other.
Junior Abigail Newkirk plays soccer for Bluffton and did not get the chance to go home but said she still used fall break to her advantage.
“My fall break is slightly different than most other students,” Newkirk said. “Being a fall athlete means having to stay on campus, which is perfectly fine because I love playing soccer more than anything in the world, and getting a chance to compete is worth staying on campus for the weekend.”
Newkirk had practice Friday and then headed into the rest of the weekend by playing in a home game on Saturday.
After the game on Saturday, Newkirk hung out in her room doing what most college students do to get a mental and physical break from school—eating junk food and watching Netflix.
Sunday she worked her regular shift at Bob Evans to pick up some extra cash for the school year, and that night turned out to be full of relaxation and starting some homework for this week.
Newkirk is the Fitness Center Supervisor on campus, which means Monday and Tuesday she had to cover hours to allow for students and staff to be able to still use the facilities. Soccer practice for this week also began on Monday and Tuesday to prepare for their conference game on Wednesday.
“While I would have loved to go home and spend some time with my family during fall break, I enjoy being on campus because, at the end of the day, Bluffton is my home away from home,” Newkirk said.
