Summer has just begun for Lipscomb students, and many are already busy with travel, new internships, jobs and summer classes.

Leah Gwin, a senior digital marketing and international business double major at Lipscomb, recently left to travel to Cape Town, South Africa to visit her cousin and experience African culture. Gwin’s 16-hour flight left on May 12, and she will be in Cape Town for about 18 days before coming back to the United States.

“For the past few years, I have been half-joking with my parents saying I’d love to visit my cousin for a graduation present. Turns out, my parents are awesome and decided to buy me a plane ticket to South Africa to celebrate my graduation,” she said.

Gwin is no stranger to travel. She studied abroad in Vienna in 2013, visited many places around Europe and also traveled to Tanzania, Africa, twice to minister to local villages.

“Going to Cape Town will be completely different from my past experiences in Africa because it was founded by the British and has a mix of African and European culture and also has economic challenges right now,” Gwin said.

Gwin was also excited to swim with sharks in the African waters at sunrise.

“My cousin and I will be picked up at 3 a.m., put on wet suits and then load in a boat to go jump in the water with the sharks when the sun rises,” she said.

Lindsey Benson is a sophomore exercise science major at Lipscomb who will be a camp counselor at Camp Big Fish in Chattanooga this summer.

“I have about 15 incoming kindergarteners, and I will teach Bible lessons, play games, take them to the pool each day and then take them on a field trip once a week,” she said.

In addition, Benson decided to dedicate a few hours to work as a caregiver for the elderly this summer. She said she will be helping make dinner, providing athletic instruction and assisting with hygiene.

“I am trying to get experience with all ages in the different jobs I have,” she said.

Chase Meador is a sophomore law, justice and society major at Lipscomb who will be working full-time as a marketing and fulfillment intern for Advent this summer.

“Advent is a company that designs and creates spaces for colleges all over the United States. From hall of fame rooms, to locker rooms to gymnasiums, Advent does it all,” he said. “They put a lot of time into learning about the culture, history and traditions of a school, and then they use that knowledge to create an environment unique to that campus.”

Meador is working alongside the marketing team to strategically map out ways to maintain good relationships with clients and how to form new ones.

Chelsea Fields is a senior art therapy major at Lipscomb who graduated this May.

“This summer is going to be a real experience,” she said. “I will be going out and trying to get jobs and be an adult and do adult things.”

Fields said she will move to Fayetteville and work for a school, helping out with young children there.

“It has been a while since I have been in a small town,” she said. “But it will be a nice change in scenery.”

Sinney Chan is a sophomore data science major at Lipscomb who will be traveling to Hong Kong this summer on a 21-hour flight to see her parents. It has been a year since she last saw them. Chan said that technology has made the distance less difficult, though.

“It hasn’t been hard to be an international student,” she said. “Since technology is so advanced, I am able to talk to my parents very easily through FaceTime.”

Chan hopes to get connected with some churches in Hong Kong, and she said she will likely take some summer classes there as well.

Photo courtesy of Leah Gwin

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