Students are getting back into the school mode to finish out the end of the year after a needed spring break, especially after not having one last year. 

Due to COVID-19, Creighton did not have a spring break last year, so students were excited to finally get one this year. 

Alleigh Visser, a sophomore in the college of Arts and Sciences, was happy to have a break this year. 

Although she said that “spring semester seemed to go by a lot faster” last year, she said it was also “mentally draining” not having a break. 

Motivation levels last year were not high, Visser said it was challenging because, “there was a constant need to be doing schoolwork and there wasn’t necessarily a relaxation period where you could work on self-care or self-revitalization.” 

She said her mental sharpness would have been negatively affected if we did not have break again this year. 

“It would’ve been hard to focus on schoolwork continually without a break,” Visser said. 

Visser worked 60 hours over break to make extra money, so although she said it was nice to have a break from schoolwork, she still overextended herself trying to make extra money. She also used time over break to cook and start an indoor garden. 

Lizzie Calderon, another sophomore student in the Arts and Sciences school, said it was “very hard to find motivation to go back to school” when we did not have a break last year. 

She said that spring break was mentally needed. 

“I had less motivation last year; I was so exhausted because my brain didn’t get a break and was constantly on,” Calderon said. “Break provided enough time to be ready to learn again.” 

Calderon used spring break to go to the gym, catch up on sleep, and spend needed time with family. 

Jack Gabel, an associate professor of astronomy, stressed the importance of a break for students as well as professors. 

“People were burned out and tired. I expected to see this difference,” Gabel said 

Over break, Gabel stayed in and graded papers, did administrative work, spent time with his wife and three children, and fixed the leaky drain in his house. 

“The sink had been leaky for three weeks,” he said. 

Gabel said spring break gives professors time to catch up on work including research and other administrative tasks. 

Gabel said he expects his students to be “relaxing, recharging, being a college student, and not studying” over their break.