For many students, spring break is used to recharge before a busy end to the school year. Some choose to visit family while others take part in one of the school-sponsored trips abroad; some simply prefer to stay home and hang out with friends.
“I went to Barcelona and Madrid,” Ella Byrne, ‘27, said. “We had three days in Madrid, but technically it was only two because one of the days was a travel day.”
Byrne was a part of the school-sponsored trip to Spain with Lauren McGill and Señora Wilke. The group visited Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo and Montserrat, spending the majority of their time in Madrid and Barcelona and taking day trips to Toledo and Montserrat.
“The first day [in Madrid] we went to the Royal Palace, and that was really cool because the king and queen had just been there, so the royal table was set,” Byrne said.
Similar to most capital cities in Europe, Madrid is home to the National Gallery, known in Spain as the Prado.
“We went to the Prado, which is an art museum,” Byrne said. “Mrs. McGill is the art history teacher, so she told us all about the different artworks [at the museum]. It was very interesting because she knew so much [because] she’s been out of the country eight times before.”
While Barcelona is not home to the Royal Palace like Madrid, it does possess significant cultural sites, many of which are centered around tile work and masonry.
“We went to Park Güell, which [has tons] of tile work by Antoni Gaudí,” Byrne said. “Then we went to La Sagrada Familia, which is this huge church, and it’s been being built for over 200 years. There was all this tile work [inside] that made the lights flow.”
While Byrne enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the major cities, one of the highlights of her trip was the excursion to Toledo. The city holds historical significance and religious diversity, being home to monuments regarding Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
“It’s this really small town, and there’s only 10,000 people who actually live there, but millions of people come there every year as tourists,” Byrne said.
Being one of those tourists meant the world to Byrne.
“It was definitely one of my favorite vacations,” Byrne said. “I’ve never been [out of the] United States before, so it made this trip [extra special].”
Unlike Byrne, some students chose to take trips with their friends to more tropical destinations, such as Florida.
“I went to Clearwater, Florida, for five days,” Elizabeth Polger, ‘26, said.
Florida, long a favorite of sun-deprived high school and college students for a Spring Break destination, is known for clear water and warm temperatures.
“We laid on the beach and enjoyed the water and warm weather,” Polger said. “We also cooked burrito bowls and had movie nights every night. Our favorite things we watched were ‘Criminal Minds’ and ‘Frozen.’”
In contrast to the highly organized school-sponsored trip that Byrne chose to partake in, Polger had a much more laid-back vacation.
“It was just more of a chill [vacation],” Polger said. “We just had our flights scheduled, and we made up the rest from there; no dinner reservations or activities were planned beforehand.”
Some students, like Laksita Santhana Krishnan, ‘26, avoided traveling far distances altogether, choosing to stay home and enjoy time with family.
“I went to the mall and bought some dresses from Altar’d State,” Santhana Krishnan said. “I also spent time with my parents; my mom and I really like the Marvel movies, so we watched a lot of those.”
Santhana Krishnan also used the time away from school to take a college visit, something many WHHS juniors and SENIORS have done over the years.
“I went to Columbus for a day… and toured Ohio State University (OSU),” Santhana Krishnan said. “We tried this shawarma place near [OSU], and it was really good.”
Regardless of how WHHS students chose to spend their break, one thing is for certain: each student got the opportunity to take their learning outside of the classroom and into the real-world.
“I learned a lot about the culture, and I got to do a lot of experiences that I’ve just never done before; I got to speak in Spanish and talk to the local people,” Byrne said. “I feel like I learned it was a good learning experience, and I feel like I learned a lot about what’s out there.”
