As Saint Mary's students wrap up a week full of tests, quizzes and paper, they also prepare to head off campus for spring break to locations across the country and world.
Junior Mariah Niedbalski will head to the sunny southwest in Albuquerque, N.M. to be reunited with her older sister.
"We're going camping. I'm really excited, but I am afraid of bears, so I am also nervous," Niedbalski said. "We are also going to see a Goya exhibit. Being an Art History major, [that] makes me really excited."
Although many students are headed to warmer destinations to escape the dreary Indiana weather, some have less typical plans.
Junior Caitlyn Paulsen is staying in the United States to spend time with her boyfriend, who lives in Ireland, but will visit over break.
"My boyfriend that I met in Ireland is from Spain [and he] is coming to visit me and we are going to do some traveling," Paulsen said.
The couple will visit Chicago, Boston and Newport, R.I., where Paulsen has family.
"I haven't seen [him] in five months," she said. "He's going to meet my family for the first time."
While Paulsen's boyfriend is arriving from Europe, juniors Erin Coen and Katie Schultheis are headed there.
"We studied abroad [in Ireland] spring semester of our sophomore year and are going back to visit friends," Coen said.
Coen and Schultheis said they loved Europe so much that they are headed back there for a full week. The two Saint Mary's juniors said they plan to visit Dublin and Maynooth, places where they studied.
"[We have] no plans but to hang out with [Irish] friends," Schultheis said. "I wouldn't mind being stuck in Ireland. I wouldn't be too torn up about it."
Schultheis said she is most looking forward to "just being back and seeing everyone again."
Many other students this break will choose to go home for the week. Sophomore Colette Curtis will return to her home in Marshall, Mich.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing my dog and my family," Curtis said, "I miss my family."
