The summer is a time for wild adventures, new memories, and gaining new experiences. Some students at Oakton had a packed summer, from going to camp to interning to going on a family vacation. Learn about what some Oakton students did over the summer.

Cece Schmitz (11)

Cece Schmitz is a junior at Oakton, and over the summer she went to France with her family. Schmitz traveled throughout France visiting Paris and Lyon to see the Women’s World Cup. She said, “It was amazing to see (the world cup) because I’ve been watching them play since I was little and I’ve always looked up to them, even though I don’t play soccer anymore.” Schmitz had a great time in Paris and got to learn more about another culture, and will always remember the memories she made.

Rosemary Nickerson (12)

Rosemary Nickerson is a senior, and this past summer her family and her road-tripped down to Florida. They went for two weeks, driving down along the coast and back up through Orlando to visit Legoland and Disney World and the Everglades. In an interview, Nickerson said her two favorite parts were, “visiting Key West and Disney World.” Nickerson explained how she grew up going to Disney Land, so it was exciting to go back to a Disney park, this was especially enjoyable for her because she got to take her little brother on all of the rides. She explained that, “I enjoyed Key West because it was an old, beautiful town with a blend of the Carribean and European cultures.” Overall, Nickerson definitely enjoyed herself over the summer and is ready to be back at school.

Abby Cortez (11)

Abby Cortez did a lot over the summer, she went to Costa Rica with her family, and she was apart of Westfield’s summer stage program. She worked as a techie for the summer stage program and helped produce Les Mis. She said, “It was so much fun because I love theatre, so I’m glad I got to do some over the summer.” She also visited Costa Rica, she said, “It was really fun to go zip lining and see the rain forest.” Cortez enjoyed her summer and got some more experience with theatre, and even made new memories, so overall, she had a successful summer.

Wyatt Olsen (12)

Wyatt Olsen is a senior at Oakton, he spent his summer coaching at a tennis camp, touring colleges in Utah, and going to Hawaii. He explained in an interview, “in Hawaii we (his family) went snorkeling, hiking around a lot and overall just took in the all of the sites and beauty of it.” He also went to Utah to tour a couple of colleges, which, as a senior, Olsen will be looking at soon. Olsen continued in his interview to say, “I taught tennis to little kids and learned a new kind of patience.” Hopefully, Olsen can use that patience to help him through his senior year. 

Ally Silas (11)

Ally Silas spent the majority of her summer at Jewish camp, which she has been going to for six years now. This year was the first year she wasn’t a camper but was a LIT (Leader in Training). For the first part of camp Silas got to go to Disney World. She explained in her interview, “in the beginning we went to Disney and participated in the YES program where we got to learn a little bit about the behind the scenes of how they run their (Disney)  business and customer service.” Silas had a fun-packed summer with which she got to make new memories and spend a lot of time with her friends.