During the summer, we can do whatever our hearts desire. From strolling the streets of southern France to working a summer job, Magnet students did it all. 
Many people spent a lot of their summer traveling with some making the trip all the way across the pond and others deciding to visit places closer to home. Jasmine Zheng said her favorite part of the summer was spending a month in China and Sophia Easterbrook said she had a blast in Spain where she “ate some good food.” Cliffie Manuel said her summer was “one for the books” as she spent a month traveling the cities of France. While staying with her host family Cliffie got to watch Barbie in French (twice!), adventure to a Burger King in Montbéliard, and take a dip in the Mediterranean Sea. Molly Tombs also had a blast perusing the streets of Europe, really soaking in the experience. Other students, while still extremely grateful, experienced some hiccups in their summer travels. After a canceled flight to Eleuthera, Sutton Meyer and her eight member crew got stuck in Miami for two nights. At first, anyone would be excited to spend some time in Miami. However, one word Sutton used to describe the experience was “conflict”. They only received a $100 hotel voucher for the eight of them for two nights, and while it worked out in the end, it definitely added some bumps in their travels to the Bahamas. Another Bahama Mama, Madeline Moye also made her way down to the Bahamas saying, “I would go back ASAP.”
Sutton Meyer after the Miami debacle on the way to the Bahamas
Many students decided to stay within the borders of our home turf and visited states across the country. Jordan Burrell said that her favorite part of her summer was hiking the mountains of California for two weeks with her best friend, Bellamy Kline. Another student, Wilson Swenson, also got a glimpse of the Golden State and the perfect weather. After careful thought, Wyatt Mahoney stated that his summer highlight was golfing with his dad in Arizona. Milla Broadwater and Jasmine Zheng took a bite out of the big apple, visiting NYC for a long portion of their summer vacation. One student, Gannon Rose got the full East Coast tour this summer going to Boston, New York, North Carolina, and Maine. He ate lobster rolls, saw the beautiful landscapes in Maine, and saw the home of Paul Revere in person. That sounds like a killer summer to me.
Wyatt Mahoney tearing up the golf course this summer
While many students spent some time traveling, others enjoyed spending time at home enjoying the amazing beaches and amenities in Charleston. Emma Miars said that she had fun spending time with her friends and hanging out. Ava Smoak spent her time hopping around the Charleston beaches “getting her tan on” where I would occasionally tag along. Embre Slack spent time boating across the Charleston waters, occasionally going tubing which she said was “fun but can be a rough ride.” While some laid out on the beautiful beaches, Beatty Cummings spent time hanging out at his new pool saying it is “super cool and fun”. With the vacation spot that we live in already, staying home can be a great way to spend the summer.
Me, Embre Slack, and Aislynn Piihl tubing in a Charleston Waterway
Lots of students spent their summers working and rolling in the dough. Holly Manning was a lifeguard at Splash Island for a majority of the summer saying “it was appalling how parents can’t watch their kids in 4 feet of water then they drown and I have to save them.” While people may see her as just a lifeguard, she is a hero in my eyes. Wilson Burns also did his duty as a lifeguard at Hobcaw Yacht Club where he spent a lot of time soaking up the sun. We also have a lot of hostesses in our midst. Lauren Faust was clocking in thirty hours a week at Burton’s Grill in Town Centre. She said that everyone should come visit her there! Suzanna said that she was “quite the busy bee” working as both a hostess at Five Loaves and interning at the Charleston Jewish Federation. What a professional gal. Lukey Sutherland didn’t work one job, he worked TWO. One at Callie’s Hot little Biscuit and the other at Rocket Burger, a burger food truck in Mt. Pleasant. However, he did not have a pleasant time at Rocket Burger saying, “It was the worst experience of my life I will never go back”. Not surprisingly, he quit after only a month.
Lukey Sutherland standing in front of the Rocket Burger food truck
Another great way to spend the summer is at a summer camp, and there were a plethora of AMHS individuals who really got in touch with mother nature. Addie Hanna spent three weeks in the glorious mountains of North Carolina and said, “it was the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.” Personally, as a camp attender myself, I would fully agree with this statement. I also spent three weeks as a counselor in training at Camp Greenville right outside of Brevard, North Carolina and had a ball. Rowan Engelke was also a camp leader and said she loved giving campers the amazing experience that she had when she was a camper.
Addie Hanna after a tiresome hike up a Blue Ridge Mountain (more like hill)
Others decided to spend their summers improving their game. Anna Hollister went to a running camp where she prepped for the cross country season that is going on right now. What a star runner. Elaina Seymour played for a club softball team where she traveled all over the East Coast playing softball games. Playing sports over the summer is a great way to stay in shape and prep for the upcoming season during the school year.
Elaina Seymour fixing to hit one out the park!
Whether they were traveling or spending time at home, Magnet students had super fun and awesome summers. If you were bored this summer and want to have the summer of a lifetime next year, I would recommend doing something that students did this year because everyone had a blast, including me.
