What to do in Washington during the summer Pt.1-Strawberry Festival

Hi, this is Loana writing from Parkland! It's almost been a month since summer break started. Although a lot of my friends went home, some of my friends are staying around the PLU area during the summer.  There are still classes and events happening during the summer, so I don't feel completely lonely here!

Rainbow near PLU!

One series of events that are happening during the summer are the Fruit Festivals; the first one was the Strawberry Festival on June 11th. I met with Shishi there, and we got a really delicious strawberry treat for free! (The fruit themed sweets are given for free to students who have their PLU ID). There was also a band playing, and though it wasn't a big event, it was fun to eat good food and listen to good music.

Band at the Strawberry Festival

Scone, whipped cream, and strawberries :)

There is also the Raspberry Festival on July 10th and the Blueberry Festival on August 7th. If you're around the area, I recommend you check it out!


Lots of Love,
Loana

Internship

Hello all,

I guess you guys are all done with school now and that you are enjoying summer.

What are your plans for the summer? Let me know.

As for me, I just got an Internship position and I will be working this whole summer (I might take a week off to go somewhere, but as of right now, I am sort of stuck here in Washington).

As an International Student, I can only work off campus when it's under OPT or CPT and since I want to save OPT for after graduation, I work with Akane from ISS, my advisor from the School of Nursing, and some other staff members from Academic Internships office in order to be qualified for working under CPT.

CPT is short for Curricula Practical Training, therefore, the job I got has to be directly related to my major and I need to earn at least 1 academic credit for doing it.

The process was complicated but I am so grateful for those who helped me along the way. If you guys need help with CPT, let me know or let Akane know and we will be more  than happy to help.

Anyways, I am super excited about my new job and I can't wait to start working so I can share my experience with you guys.

Have a wonderful summer!
Sincerely,
Henry

Finishing My First Year at PLU

Hi, I hope you all are either having a good summer or finishing strong with school! I certainly have been having a good break so far. Here are my plans: I am going to be working in the Admissions Office and I'm also planning to take one or two classes at Pierce Community College for the summer. Of course, there are some other students staying around campus too, so it will be nice to catch up with them over the long summer!

Dead week and finals week were both really hectic. During dead week, I was scrambling around finishing my papers, projects, and presentations, while finals loomed over my head like a dark cloud. After the dead week passed, I had to worry about my exams. Though I only had two finals, both which were held at the end of the week, I also had more papers due in all my classes. However, I successfully survived the week! By Thursday, May 23rd  4pm, I was completely done with my first year at PLU.

My Writing 101 class really loved the professor!

Reflecting back on the year, I think it was one of my most life changing experiences. I got to meet so many wonderful people from different countries, and it was really sad to say goodbye to a few of my friends who were returning home after completing their time at PLU. However, I am really excited to see what my sophomore year brings, and I can't wait to take the classes that I signed up for the Fall 2013 semester.

Saying goodbye to friends :( Thank you for making my first year a good one!

I hope everyone has a good summer, and stay safe!

Lots of Love,
Loana