A newsletter for the students, faculty and staff of the Collin County Community College District. Published monthly. For information or submissions, call 972.758.3849. Cougar News welcomes student and faculty submissions. Next deadline: Sept. 10. All submissions are due by 5 p.m. on the due date. Photos cannot be returned. Text should be emailed to mrobinson@ccccd.edu or sent on disk. Please submit copy that is proofed, edited and saved in Word format. Cougar News staff: Lisa Vasquez, director; Mark Robinson, editor; Marcy Cadena-Smith, contributor; Sydney Portilla-Diggs, student correspondent; Stephanie Hall, student correspondent; Ana Colores Palmer, student correspondent; Nick Young, photographer; Layout by Publications
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Students reflect on summer: ‘What I did on my summer vacation’
By Sydney Portilla-Diggs
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| Collin students Sheara Mulbah (left) and Karen Landers had pretty eventful summers. Landers' was full of drama, while Mulbah got into culture. | When I was in high school, my friends and I looked forward to the first day of school. We usually picked a color and went shopping for outfits in that particular shade.
On the first day of school, showing up in school in the same color was my favorite part of going back to school. However, writing the dreaded “What I did on Summer Vacation” essay put a damper on my spirits.
I never had anything interesting to write about. As a family, we did not visit amusement parks. In fact, I visited Six Flags for the first time on a choir trip when I was 16 years old. I would have to wait until I turned 25 to go to a carnival.
And now, as luck would have it, I finally have something interesting to write about—but no one is asking me what I did this summer.
Concerning their summer vacations, some Collin students have plenty to talk about.
Vegas Baby, Vegas!
Collin sophomore Lisa Simpson and her boyfriend Scott went to Las Vegas for five days.
“We didn’t win -- we didn’t even break even,” Simpson said. “As my grandfather put it, we went to Vegas to make our deposit, but we had a blast.”
Although Simpson is majoring in anthropology and archaeology, she did not go to Vegas to study the social behavior of man or to get married as many of her friends and family guessed. Instead, they stayed in the pirate-themed Treasure Island hotel and enjoyed the sites. The Blue Man group, the shark reef at Mandalay Bay, the white lions and tigers at the Mirage were among the many things they enjoyed in the city that never sleeps.
On Broadway
Collin sophomore and Communications and Humanities Division Secretary Karen Landers took a summer II class offered by Brad Baker. Along with an entire drama class, Landers stayed in a hotel in the middle of New York City’s Broadway. Landers is still undecided about her major but is leaning towards theatre. So far, dramatic literature has been her favorite class. Under the tutelage of Baker, the Collin drama students were able to meet actors, directors, writers and musicians. The students visited New York University and Julliard School of Drama. After attending Broadway shows, Collin students participated in talkbacks with cast members.
For Landers, one of the highlights of her New York theatre experience was meeting Faye Dunaway and Jeff Goldblum.
PTK Institute
Together with other district II Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) members, Collin sophomore Sheara Mulbah attended the Texas Regional Honors Institute held in Galveston. The Honors Study topic “Popular Culture: Shaping and Reflecting Who We Are” brings important, current issues to the foreground and encourages Phi Theta Kappans to examine how these issues affect their lives.
According to Mulbah, “The whole experience was great for networking.”
Mulbah said the students attended seminars and discussed pop culture in small groups. For Mulbah, the highlight of the weekend was the town hall discussion.
“People spoke so passionately about pop culture and whether the children of today are spoiled by it,” Mulbah said.
On their recreation breaks, Mulbah and the other Collin students spent a lot of time on the beach.
Warped Tour & SMU
Collin student Chris Baird competed in and won $100 in Vans Warped Tour skateboard competition while former Collin student Chase Dillon Higgs was accepting a half-tuition honors scholarship from Southern Methodist University. From discussing the controversy of Paris Hilton’s racy Carl Jr.’s commercial, watching the water show at Las Vegas’ Bellagio hotel, or chatting with Faye Dunaway in the rain, Collin students can always boast diverse interests.
What did you do this summer?
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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