While most students spent spring break at home or on the beach soaking up the sun, Karis Hayes (9), Evelyn Tudor (9) and Graham Tudor (11) had a different experience.
Hayes visited Lake Aurora Christian Camp in Florida for the first time this spring break. The trip was made possible through Campus Life, a Christian organization Hayes participates in. The group meets on Monday nights for activities and discussions about faith.
Hayes took a 24-hour bus ride to get to Lake Aurora, but it was worth it in the end for the experience.
“It changed my life,” Hayes said. “It changed my perspective. It was so much fun.”
Hayes has already decided she wants to go back next year after her phenomenal experience this year.
While at camp, daily activities consisted of many sports such as basketball and volleyball. The campers were split into groups that competed in tournaments for each sport. The campers also traveled to Cocoa Beach to go swimming and then returned to camp at night. Another excursion was to a nearby water park, Aquatica.
The campers’ days consisted of free time to try out activities around camp, a sports tournament each day and listening to a daily speaker.
“My perspective really changed because of the speaker,” Hayes said. “He really talked about stuff that’s been going on in my life a lot.”
Hayes believes that this spring break trip was a better option than a typical beach trip.
“It was very impactful because I got to make lifelong friends who live where I do [who also attended],” Hayes said. “I got to grow in my faith and go to a beautiful place.”
Evelyn started her spring break in Florida on the school trip for band and orchestra. Throughout the break, she moved her way up the coast, visiting every state between Florida and Maryland.
After she left Disney, her trip consisted of touring college campuses with her older brother, Graham. They visited Duke University in North Carolina and Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.
“I liked both of the colleges and the campuses were so pretty, but Duke was my favorite [campus] because of the suburban setting and beautiful gardens,” Evelyn said.
Despite being only a freshman, the experience gave Evelyn an early glimpse into what college life could look like down the road.
“It’s good to start early because it gives you more time to visit more colleges and start learning about what you can do throughout all of high school to really up your chances of getting into [various] colleges,” Evelyn said.
Like his sister, Graham also preferred the visit to Duke.
“It was a very balanced community where there was a really strong academic side of the school, but then they also have an elite sports program that helps bring hard-working students together in their free time,” Graham said.
He has the same appreciation for the trip that Evelyn does and thinks it’s important to keep your college options open.
“Visiting colleges that are not your safety schools and are more of a reach school can be inspiring,” Graham said. “It gives you something to aspire to and keeps you working hard to reach that goal.”
