How are CSUMB students spending spring break?

Spring break means different things to different students. When asked on Instagram, students responded with answers that ranged from “Camping!’ to “writing a 10-page paper.”

Monica To, a fourth-year communication design student, said she was going to Alaska: “I figured it would not be touristy ... Hope to see the Northern Lights!”

Another student, @Madilowen, had at least two agendas for going to Seattle: “My boyfriend is meeting my family, and we’re going to the museum of pop culture and Japantown.”

Jackie Casareno, @Jjxckiec, is excited to catch up on some reading and shows, including “The Glory,” “Abbott Elementary,” “The Office,” “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” “Little Women” and “Blockbuster.” Prospective student @Alli.logan hopes to “tour the campus” during spring break.

Last year, Kasydi Bennett, a second-year biology major living on campus, was flown back to her small Northern California hometown of Yreka by her family. 

“My family loves to see me,” she said. 

But this year it’s a different story. She’s staying on campus — training with the Recreation department on outdoor activities like climbing, biking and kayaking — so that she can teach those skills to other students. 

She said about half of her friends are going home, and half will be staying on campus, some of them doing the same training with Recreation. She’ll also be going to softball practice and is looking forward to “free time and me time” by exploring Fort Ord on a bike and stretching out on a hammock. 

“I tend to read or take a nap,” Bennett said. “Sometimes I do homework out there, just sit and enjoy the outdoors. Right now Fort Ord is so green with all the rain — the flowers, the mushrooms — it’s very beautiful out there right now.” 

Bennett said she’s not sure how much of the campus dining and library services she’ll use over the break, but she knows that the Basic Needs Hub is open.  

“This year [my family] has actually been very accepting of me being my own person,” she said. “So that’s been a really big change for me, which I’ve really been enjoying. They’re supportive and happy I’m doing things I enjoy.”

Maria Corral, a second-year psychology major, is going to Arizona State University as well as the University of Arizona as a McNair Scholar to tour their graduate programs. She’ll be there for five days between the two campuses, much of it paid for. 

“I’ll get to talk to graduate students, professors, do some networking,” Corral said. 

Dani Kaldes is a first-year student majoring in biology and minoring in Japanese, who also works with Corral. Kaldes is driving to Los Angeles with a friend to visit that friend’s family and spend a week there.

“I want to see L.A.,” Kaldes said. “Little Tokyo, the beach, the Downtown Disneyland District.” 

Corral tells Kaldes: “You gotta go to the Anaheim Packing District. It is amazing.”

Have exciting plans for spring break? Share your adventures on Instagram with #CSUMBSpringBreak and tag us @CSUMB.