Bobcats Take on Summer 2019

Welcome back, Bobcats! The staff here at The Bottom Line hopes you had a wonderful and eventful summer. We know our students are exposed to fascinating and unforgettable experiences every summer, and we wanted to take the time to show off some of our exceptional students and their achievements during Summer 2019!

 

From Mya Shoop, Sophomore: Basically, I’ve had the same group of friends for a grand total of fifteen years now, and we all were terrified the relationship would end when we went to college. All of us would be in separate states, working and being adults. Man, it’s been the exact opposite. We spent the summer hanging out like in the good old days and celebrated our anniversary on August 9. They’re the greatest group of people I’ve ever met, and I’m so lucky I have them in my life. We went to medieval times, walked around parks, had BBQs, sleepovers, and late night drives where we just scream our favorite songs until our voices give out. Aside from that, my organization had the best training program we’ve had in years. We really connected with the incoming first-years, and I can feel the life getting breathed back into this organization. This summer really was a chance to connect and fall in love with myself and other people. It was amazing.

 

From Hannah Polk, Sophomore: So this summer, I worked as a youth pastor intern! I got to actively work with middle and high schoolers around 4 days a week. My job included standard office work, planning events, managing a social media page, organizing Bible Studies, and planning youth group events. I learned tons about myself through this internship ranging from how to deal with noisy middle schoolers, to what the best organizational techniques are for event planning for 60+ people. I loved that my summer was full of sharing Jesus with teenagers.

From Jenna Puffinburger, Senior: Over the summer I studied abroad in Prague, Czech Republic at the University of Economics! I was able to explore the Czech Republic through a brewery tour in the town of Plzen, a tour of Karlstejn castle, and a trip to the town of Cesky Krumlov. I also was lucky enough to travel to Denmark, Germany, France, Austria, Monaco, and Italy with fellow Bobcat Emma Duncan! My featured pictures are of me with the Czech flag while on a river cruise on the Vltava River that flows through Prague, and myself and Emma in front of the Monte Carlo casino.

 

From Gwen Schemm, Senior: My family traveled to Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, Monaco, and Morocco. We sat ten rows back to watch the US Women’s National Soccer Team take on Sweden in the final group stage game in Le Havre, France. The US later went on to win the tournament, becoming back-to-back World Champions! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From David Robinson, Junior: This was my best summer ever because I made a lot of mistakes! You learn from every mistake, and I was able to do a lot of learning and enjoyed myself very much. I worked for Vector Marketing’s Cutco, selling the world’s finest set of cutlery. I worked in New Jersey, where I am from, for the Somerset Savages out of Branchburg, NJ in the Primetime division. Our company hosted a leadership conference this past summer in Stamford, Connecticut where I discovered already close friends of mine: Theresa Beach, Michael Poorbaugh, & Paul Kumpar, who also work for the same company in respective Salisbury and Carroll County Divisions.

For this job, I presented high-quality cutlery and culinary products to customers from initial contacts to the closing of the sale through one-on-one in-home and virtual demonstrations. I generated a lead base of personal referrals and became a certified field trainer, where I field-trained new representatives while offering a model of successful performance. Starting from the end of June until the day it was time to move back onto campus, I was personally responsible for $23,257 dollars worth of product sales. In addition, for the month of August alone, our company put on a summer campaign push period, where I sold $10,291 and earned an all-inclusive trip to Paradise Island in the Bahamas along with the other college student contest winners.

This job and summer experience was amazing because I was given the opportunity to interview individuals interested in the job position. I provided weekly consultations for all representatives, serving as a coach and mentor and enjoyed every second of it. 

 

From Madison Davis, Sophomore: Over the summer, my family and I took a lot of day trips throughout Pennsylvania and Maryland. We also were able to vacation in Ocean City for a week. Aside from that, I spent my time catching up with my cousins and other family, and listened to a lot of music in my free time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noah DeMichele, Junior and Dylan Shimko, Senior in Berlin eating some Wiener schnitzel.

 

From Rebecca Phillip, Senior:  This past summer, I went to DC VegFest at Nationals Park, where I supported local and global companies who are changing the world by being more eco-friendly by not only the food on their plate but their lifestyle. I saw cooking demos, attended vegan lifestyle talks, and bought vegan food and apparel. My favorite vendor was Hippeas, a vegan cheese puff snack! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Jesse Dunagan, Senior: I spent the summer living and working in Washington D.C. I worked as an intern at BRAVO! Events by Design, a strategic marketing and event planning firm. I got the opportunity to work directly with the CEO and Founder of the company to produce events and work on my marketing skills. This summer was an extremely valuable experience for me both personally and professionally. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Julia Hershman, Junior: Over the summer, I had the amazing opportunity to study abroad in Rennes, France at Rennes School of Business. We had seven professors from various countries around the world teaching a Responsible Management course. It was really cool to learn about a topic from so many different perspectives. It was also interesting to meet other students from different parts of the world. Many of the friendships that I made while I was studying abroad will last a lifetime. We ate an assortment of French foods and did a lot of sightseeing in Rennes. My favorite spot was Parc du Thabor, where this picture was taken. Studying abroad is an awesome experience that I encourage everyone to try!

 

 

 

From Olivia Hubble, Sophomore: This summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Miami University at Oxford, Ohio for a leadership conference with a few of my sisters from Delta Zeta. At this conference, we toured Miami University’s beautiful campus, learned about the history of our sorority, and participated in workshops that encouraged both horizontal and vertical growth of character. This experience taught me so much about myself and allowed me to connect with individuals from chapters across the country, which was truly eye-opening. 

 

 

 

 

From Delanie Blubaugh, Sophomore: This summer, I had the insane opportunity to intern on Capitol Hill with the United States Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee! I interned under Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, who is the Ranking Member on the Committee. I was immersed in the world of fast politics, and had the opportunity to work with my fellow interns and superiors-one of whom was an FSU alumni!- on a huge bill for an important Committee hearing. In addition, I learned many skills that are vital to working in the world of politics, like transcribing hearings and speeches, as well as being able to contact and collaborate with federal agencies for the good of Maryland- and United States- constituents. This opportunity gave me insight into the hard decisions and intricate processes that go into not only successful small businesses, but also into creating and changing a well-rounded bill to better suit the people in which it would be affecting. Overall, I had a fantastic experience doing intense work, which came with an even greater reward, going on exciting adventures around the Capitol, and meeting some of our nation’s greatest leaders!

 

 

 

Drew Shimko, Junior, and Jake Howard, Senior, compete in the annual Maryland Park Service lifeguard competition which was held at Rocky Gap State Park this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Maddie Fick, Senior: This summer I studied abroad in Paris, France. All those cliche things people say about their time abroad turns out to be true. It was life changing and now I have a place to call home in Europe. I was able to travel all over Europe and saw some truly breathtaking things. I went to Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and all over France. I learned so much and I’m already itching to go back.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Josh Trenum, Junior, shark fishing in Holden Beach, North Carolina. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Lauren Nordquist, Sophomore: This summer I lifeguarded every week, but was lucky to be able to get away for a weekend to relax at Chincoteague Island in Virginia. We spent time on the beach, looked at local shops, and enjoyed being in the sun!

 

 

 

 

 

From Nadia Khan, Sophomore: Summer of 2019 came and went in the blink of an eye, thankfully, I was able to enjoy every second of it! I began my summer by attending a Thomas Rhett concert with some of my good friends. From there I went to some amusement parks with my family. I couldn’t skip visiting the Smithsonian’s Zoo in DC, doings escape rooms, and going to the carnival. For the 4th of July, I went to Myrtle Beach. Then to wrap up my summer I went to Ocean City, MD and Virginia Beach. For this bobcat, summer was a blast but I’m happy to be back at FSU.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Samuel Bankole, Junior: Recently I had the honor to travel and visit the United Kingdom! This was an interesting experience and family trip. As we stepped out of the airport we felt a crisp chill of their Summer weather. Our driver then took us to a round car and drove on the left side of their London road. We took a trip to this great place to attend a Nigerian wedding. In the meantime, we took a tour to see the Big Ben and many other great monumental places. Until the next time.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Emma Duncan, Senior: This June, I had the privilege of getting to drive across most of the country, from Maryland to Nevada and back. I visited 14 different national parks/landmarks and saw some amazing views like this one along the way! It took 15 days to make the whole journey there and back and was by far one of the major highlights of my summer. This particular picture is from Mount Zion National Park in Utah where I spent many hours hiking and discovering nature!