By:  Amanda Zahn

This past Tuesday night (or Wednesday morning for some of us who procrastinated a bit), students began packing for not just a closed weekend, but for fall break. The university cancelled all classes on Thursday and Friday so that students would have the chance to go home and visit with their families and enjoy a couple days off from class. Some would say fall break comes at just the right time, marking the half way point during the semester. Some argue a better couple of days could have been picked, as the next week is a week of midterms for the majority of classes. All would agree, though, the break is much needed by this time in the semester, so it was looked forward to with much anticipation across the board.

As student’s final classes let out on Wednesday, Academy student’s began the process of checking out of the building. When leaving for extended breaks, the Academy enforces a different checkout policy than usual, requiring rooms be cleaned a little more stringently than as required weekly. So, rather than just packing for home, students also set about cleaning their rooms (which, like the break, was probably much needed for some!). By 7 pm, the building was void of all students, each having left for their own fall break adventures.

Academy students did many things with their break from their typical schedule. Many stayed at home, simply enjoying spending time with family and friends from their hometowns as well as catching up on things such as their studies, sleep, and Netflix. Some, however, took this time to go on a few college visits, with seniors getting the chance to tour the schools that they are currently working on applying to. Overall, fall break was a chance for everyone to catch up on a few things that had been pushed aside during the thus far busy weeks at the Academy this school year. Sunday afternoon students began returning to the building, ready to take on the next few weeks of this semester!

When I was in the 7^th grade, a family friend introduced me to the idea of spending the last two years of my high school career living and studying at The Gatton Academy. Immediately I was fixated on the idea. Just about five years later, here I am transitioning into my senior year at Gatton with the same enthusiasm I held upon first learning about this amazing opportunity.

My name is Amanda Zahn, and I come to Gatton from Ryle High School in Boone County. At my sending school I played for the women’s soccer team for three years, as well as acted as an assistant coach for the middle school girls’ team. In the off season I spent my time playing for a club soccer team so, as you can probably tell, soccer has really been my life outside of the academic setting. Here at Gatton, I haven’t been able to devote as much time to soccer, but I’ve actually enjoyed taking a step back from it and having the time to really look into other interests of mine. However, this past spring I did play on Gatton’s intramural co-ed team which was a great way to revisit the sport I enjoy.

Surprisingly, soccer is not what I’m most passionate about. My real passion is travel. My freshman year of high school, I participated in my school’s German exchange program, spending about a month living with a host family in Wermelskirchen, Germany. Ever since, I have been obsessed with seeing the world and travelling. This is one area Gatton has provided me opportunities that a traditional high school could not. In just one year at Gatton, I was able to spend about a week and a half of my winter break travelling across Italy as well as spend three weeks studying in England this past summer. Both experiences were what I would call once-in-a-lifetime, and have encouraged me (though I didn’t need much encouragement) to sign up to spend another week and a half of my winter break travelling with the Academy, but this time to Greece!

Since I can’t spend my life leisurely travelling the world, I’ve decided I want to be a pharmacist. The field not only interests me on the conceptual side, but also on the social side. I am a people person at heart, and I have found that pharmacology is a great way to incorporate my love of people and social interaction into a STEM career. This past semester I did some research involving potential chemotherapeutic drugs on campus with a professor, and it really convinced me that a degree in pharmacy is really what I want to pursue.

I’m excited to continue blogging this upcoming year and sharing with you all what life at Gatton is like. This opportunity has been invaluable to me thus far, and I can’t wait to see what this year will bring!