Exeter summer has reached its last week. Unlike the first week, the campus is now filled with people walking in groups talking and laughing with each other. Unfortunately, it is almost time to say goodbye. The unwillingness to leave can be seen through each student’s eyes. Undoubtedly, Exeter Summer was a great experience for all the students.
We did a survey on a group of people in the first week about how they felt about the session and now we are going back to the same group of people asking the same questions and see if their feelings have changed over time based on their experience here.
Three of the students are Upper School: Victor D’anzi, Baaba Bentsi-Enchill, and Jimmy Small. Two are Access Exeter: Emily Tanaka and Elliot Smith.
1) What is your favorite thing now at Exeter Summer?
BB: Nothing much, I’ve been really stressful for the past week because of how much homework I had.
JS: I love the sports here, especially squash. I also like the academics too, they are very intense, but I think it’s great.
VD: The different activities, trips and clubs. I enjoyed water country the most out of all the trips, but the cinema and Boston were really fun as well.
ET: I love sports here, like competitive swimming, cause that’s what I am doing. I am really thankful that Exeter summer made me pick up the sport that I dropped for two years. Field trips were awesome too.
ES: I love the friends I’ve made here, I think they would be long-lasting friendships. I also loved the classes, more specifically the labs in science.
2) How was your workload? Were you able to manage them?
BB: The workload increased a lot as time passed. There were a lot of major deadlines last week, which gave me less and less time to have fun.
JS: It goes harder gradually, but I was still able to manage it.
VD: I barely had any homework. For me, it’s mostly working in class.
ET: It was definitely more than the first two weeks. I had to stay up sometimes to finish them.
ES: It was a pretty good amount. We had bigger projects later on, so they took more time to finish, but I really learned a lot through those projects.
3) Do you still get homesick?
BB: Yes, but only when I am talking with them. Otherwise, I’ve gotten pretty used to not having them around.
JS: No, cause I am from this place, and I go back home everyday.
VD: Definitely not when I am spending time with friends, but yeah when I see them through video chats.
ET: Not at all.
ES: No, I am fully happy with my current life.
4) Use one sentence or two to describe your past two weeks spent at Exeter.
BB: I have been really stressful, and didn’t get enough sleep. I was also kind of upset because I went to the mall, and there were only two hours to shop, which was so not enough.
JS: It was really fun, I exceptionally loved the Canobie Lake with friends.
VD: I’ve got a lot of fun things. I was quite busy, but I still enjoyed everything.
ET: The time is passing really fast compared to the first week. I had more fun times as well as more homework.I still enjoyed everything with friends.
ES: I went into the town with my friends, and we discovered so many interesting things.
5) What did you expect Exeter summer to be? Did it meet your expectations now that it almost reached to an end?
BB: It didn’t meet my expectations in terms of workload. It’s not like I am not used to it, but I mean it’s summer.
JS: I actually expected the whole experience to be harder, but it’s not as hard as I thought it would be. I still got time for other things.
VD: It’s the same.
ET: I definitely didn’t expect this much homework, more the whole experience was more fun.
ES: It was basically the same as expected, but just the people are more friendly.
Whether the response was positive or not so positive, regarding social, sports, or academics, the students all seem to have had a precious experience at Exeter summer. All of them said at the end without being asked that it will be so hard for them to say goodbye. Nevertheless, I am sure for many of us it is not a good bye, but rather a see-you-again.