By Skylar Boggs ’18, Lifestyle Co-Editor

Throughout this past summer, many students in the Upper School were able to venture not only throughout the United States but also around the world. Those students who merely traveled across state lines to visit family members in faraway places made the easiest trips. For instance, Patrick Magarian ’18 visited his relatives in Washington, D.C. and then traveled to a summer camp in North Carolina. A little further away, Zach O’Brien ’18 went on a trip to Madrid, Spain with Alex Chantilas and Josie Rutherford.  The three friends visited Puerta Del Sol and Prado Museum along with attending a bullfight. “While I traveled throughout Spain I was able to experience the diverse culture and learn about the incredible places and things that many cities had to offer,” Zach stated. On the other hand, many of our students received the opportunity to leave the country for a couple of weeks for group trips.

For example, Christina Agostino ’17 participated in a National-Geographic-led expedition for High School students. Throughout that trip she was able to go glacier hiking, rock climbing, and zip lining while traveling around the beautiful cities of Switzerland and France. Likewise, Carmelita Mays ’16 went on a different National-Geographic-led expedition where she visited Brazil for three weeks. Junior Hailey Spaeth ’17 was another student who traveled out of the states, not on an expedition but to visit one of her family members who was studying abroad in Italy. Visiting many of the beautiful cities and people, Hailey said, “I liked being in the middle of a city and being able to walk to all of the beautiful sights and monuments.” Grace Pettengill ’17 also spent quality time with her brother and mother while they visited Barcelona, Spain. Although many students traveled abroad to see epic sites and historic monuments, others climbed above and beyond to encounter some of the most beautiful and challenging places in the world.

Adam Katz ’16 spent a part of his summer climbing Mount Kilimanjaro—the highest Mountain point in Africa. Charlie Sukin ’16 also was able to spend some of his time this summer climbing Machu Picchu, which is located in Peru. Some students stayed for a short while in new and awe-filled destinations, Maddie Morales ’18 was able to spend nearly half of her summer living in Bolivia. Many of the Country Day students who did not go out of the state or country also had awesome summers.

Morgan Brown ’18 was able to travel with her soccer team but also spent most of her time with her family and friends: “I spent the beginning of my summer traveling to Seattle, but as the summer went on I enjoyed the company of my family and friends.” Others who stayed home participated in jobs, internships, camps, sports and service opportunities. After an adventure and thrill-filled summer, the school year is here.  Even though the traveling will begin to dwindle, let us make it a goal to have just as much fun and excitement during the 2015-16 academic year as we did during our summer excursions.