Auburn students ready for busy, unique summers

Auburn will be a little quieter for the next few months, as the spring semester has come to an end and most students have packed up and left town. However, it will not be completely silent, as several students will remain on the Plains for work and study as their peers journey far and wide for internships and study abroad opportunities.

Here is a capsule look at some students’ summer plans.

CeCe Conway

The Auburn, Alabama, native and professional and public writing major leaves May 24 to spend six weeks in London as part of the English department’s study abroad program.

While abroad, Conway will take two courses: Exploring Theatre in London and Designing London: Exploring Urban Aesthetics. In her free time, she plans to tour various places, including Jane Austen’s house and Bath, England.

“This is getting me out of my comfort zone,” Conway said. “I will be using what I’ve learned [in intercultural communications classes] in order to navigate different cultures and try to avoid intercultural conflicts.”

PJ Green

Green, a native of Grayson, Georgia, majoring in industrial and systems engineering, will be on campus, taking two classes he missed this spring while participating in a co-op at the Honda plant in Lincoln, Alabama.

“I am looking forward to Physics II because of the hands-on aspect with labs and because I can take what I did at my co-op and apply it to applications in the real world,” he said.

Green also will train to be a Cupola Engineering Ambassador and work on machine certifications in Engineering’s Makerspace.

Green will serve as a resident assistant this summer in an on-campus residence hall. He served in the role before leaving for his co-op.

“I am looking forward to being back in Auburn and reconnecting with faculty and friends this summer,” he said.

Arwen Holland

Holland, a wildlife ecology and management major, will intern in Hope, Alaska, with AmeriCorps’ Student Conservation Association.

“I am looking forward to the friendships I’ll make because everyone in the meetings we’ve had seems so nice and friendly,” Holland said. “I’m so excited to get to know them, especially since we will all be camping together the whole summer.”

The Dothan, Alabama, native will camp with two other interns and two group leaders. They will work to restore the natural plant population of a creek by removing invasive plants and replanting native plants.

“I feel like this internship is perfect to take what I’ve learned in classes and use it in the real world,” Holland said.

Max Porter

Porter, who just graduated with a degree in biosystems engineering, will be on campus starting a master’s degree in horticulture and will be working.

He has served as the manager for the one-of-a-kind garden located on the roof of the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center for the past two years. He will continue to maintain the garden and help complete projects within the horticulture department.

“I’m looking forward to the season of summertime because it’s nice to actually have plants growing,” Porter said. “The heat of the summer really allows you to grow some unique plants in high volumes.”

Porter also will take a research class this summer. His graduate program research will focus on the rooftop garden.

Isabel Zecher

Zecher, a native of Huntsville, Alabama, who just graduated with a degree in accounting, will be on campus, starting the Master of Accountancy program.

She will take classes during both mini-semesters and the fall before sitting for the Certificate of Public Accounting (CPA) exam in the spring. A CPA is required in the world of public accounting, especially for individuals looking to go past the manager level.

“I’m looking forward to starting the program,” Zecher said. “We have 82 people in this cohort, so I’m really looking forward to getting into it and meeting everyone. I’m sure they’re going to have fun events, and I am just excited to get the summer kicked off.”

Zecher also will start a part-time job as a graduate assistant in Campus Dining’s accounting department.

Laurel Bacon and Erin Riley

Roommates Bacon and Riley will help the College of Science and Mathematics with its’ Science Matters Summer Academy. They have worked at the camp for elementary students since the end of their sophomore year.

Bacon, a pharmacy student from Millbrook, Alabama, will serve as the assistant program director. With the camp moving to the Haley Center from Parker Hall, she will be the one tasked with answering questions.

“I’m really excited to take on this new role,” she said. “I’m very passionate about the summer camp. I absolutely love it, and I can’t wait to see all the kids again.”

Bacon also will have rotations for pharmacy school at two different locations in Prattville and Montgomery, Alabama.

Riley, a school counseling graduate student from Birmingham, Alabama, will serve as a substitute counselor for the Science Matters camp. It’s a smaller role than years past because she will be taking summer classes for graduate school.

“I’m still really excited to be involved, and I am really looking forward to my school counseling classes,” she said. “I also am looking forward to seeing the camp grow during the summer, and I think it will be cool to see Laurel as assistant program director.”

Bacon and Riley have been roommates since sophomore year and have been able to see each other grow a lot over the years, especially during the camps.

“I think it’s easy to say that we’re both really proud of each other and that just watching each other grow throughout all the craziness has been really fun,” Bacon said.