Destination: Staycation

While many of us flocked to our homes and various travel destinations over the lengthy winter break, some folks decided to remain in Oxford. Four of them offered to share a snapshot of their experiences.

Michaela Dray:

While most Miami University students took a six-week vacation, Michaela Dray made use of her time off working for her landscape ecology lab. She spent five hours a day focusing on the role of invertebrates in their environment.

Dray, a junior zoology major from Toledo, Ohio, says Oxford was very different from the usual hustle and bustle of the semester. The weekend partying sounds that she’d grown so accustomed to ceased, leaving her Hawks Landing apartment complex eerily quiet.

A few times, she walked Uptown with her miniature goldendoodle, Mo, and was shocked by the number of families and children she saw out and about.

“It was kind of nice to remember that Oxford isn’t just [for students],” Dray said.

The only place still crawling with college kids? Kofenya. Students need their caffeine fix, even in the winter.

When she wasn’t in the lab working, she was developing her new project — one where she looks at ants and their role with plant mutualism, and how white tail deer impact this relationship. Dray also spent plenty of time running to her favorite spots on campus and hanging out with her roommate.

Madeline Murchland:

Sometimes, a six week long winter break just doesn’t fit into the schedule.

That was the case for sophomore geology and political science major Madeline Murchland, who spent her time bouncing between Oxford, Dayton and Cincinnati over J-Term.

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, Murchland, a member of the MU Gymnastics Club, coached gymnasts ages one to 18 in Dayton, then turned around and judged the sport in Cincinnati.

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Though gymnastics occupied much of her time, she also found herself spending a typical nine-to-five workday in Shideler Hall, where she worked in the Geology Museum and as part of a research group.

Her favorite part of staying on campus over break was having time to just do her own thing.

“I liked having the room to myself for a while and not worrying about when I needed to go to bed, that kind of thing,” said Murchland.

But, eventually, the novelty wore off.

“You know, it gets a little lonely,” she added. “There’s not much to do. I mean, everything’s closed.”

Friends from home drove down a few times, roommates made a couple visits and her research group kept her company, but campus still felt empty.

Amanda Darrah:

Others remain in Oxford for more practical reasons.

Amanda Darrah, junior integrated social studies major, was already paying rent toward her Annex apartment, so she opted to stay and take a class over J-Term.

Darrah spent most of her time doing classwork for her art history class or preparing for spring semester. When she found herself with extra hours in the day, she did things she wouldn’t normally have time for: video games, reading or painting.

Though she’s used to Oxford being much different than her hometown of Mason, Ohio, where there are lots of people and things to do, Darrah says the contrast was even more noticeable over break.

“I think the first time I saw somebody walking on campus was [on Jan. 23],” she joked. “It’s deserted.”

Darrah noted that things students may take for granted aren’t as accessible during the winter term. Restaurants like Skipper’s had altered hours, Bagel & Deli didn’t deliver and professors’ office hours were shortened.

Despite the changes, Darrah is thankful that she stayed in Oxford. She feels better prepared for the upcoming semester without having to deal with the transition of getting back to school.

“I don’t have to unpack, I don’t have to get used to everything again, I don’t have to clean my room; it’s all just ready,” she said.

Sam Tyndall:

Being home can be great, but for most, it’s not the best place to get things done. Sam Tyndall, a chemistry major from Fort Wayne, Indiana, cut his winter break at home short for just this reason.

As a junior, Tyndall has started working on his post-graduation plans. He used the last few weeks of J-Term to get ahead on the future by shadowing a graduate student in Miami’s chemistry lab while working on a project that consisted of using copper substances to introduce a substrate to a target molecule.

After a long day in the lab, Tyndall concentrated his extra energy on his career goals: applying for internships with places like the Department of Energy and an Air Force research base, as well as studying for the Graduate Record Examination, or GRE.

“The best part was knowing that I was getting stuff done,” Tyndall said about his break. “It was nice to have a little peace before the storm before everyone gets back, too.”

He only wished there were more activities going on on campus.

“I would play soccer,” he said, “but there’s not that much going on in terms of intramurals [during the winter].”

calderjm@miamioh.edu

stahullc@miamioh.edu

Additional reporting by Leanne Stahulak.