Our Staff Recommends: Summer Suggestions
As this wild and crazy academic year comes to a close, we’re all ready to welcome a summer full of increased free-time and opportunities. The end of school means more time to pursue passions and interests of our own, relax, and refresh. Everyone is always looking for a new show, podcast, or activity to pick up, so we thought we’d share some of our counselors’ and student ambassadors’ current favorites with you for the summer!
Watching:
Theo Lassen ‘23: Handmaid's Tale, Desperate Housewives
Kendall Wulbrun, Assistant Director: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO), This Is Us
Claire Kreeft, Assistant Director: Mare of Easttown
Sasha Menezes ‘21: The Blacklist
Eryn Olson ‘16, Associate Director: Master of None, The Bold Type, The Good Place
Paola Garcia ‘11, Associate Director: Survivor (all-time favorite show, it never gets old)
Reading:
Theo: Good Mornings: Morning Rituals for Wellness, Peace, and Purpose by Linnea Dunne
Kendall: The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
Taryn Chisholm ‘23: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Eryn: American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins, Untamed by Glennon Doyle, Wow, No Thank You.: Essays by Samantha Irby
Will Gagan ‘22: All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine Wilkinson
Danielle Wenzel-Sandoval ‘07, MBA ‘11, Director of Marketing: Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty
Listening to:
Randy Wang, MBA ‘19, Assistant Director: Seven Lions, Illenium
Taryn: Hippo Campus, Surfaces, Office Ladies (podcast)
Sasha: American Scandal (podcast)
Becky Konowicz, Dean of Undergraduate Admission: Unlocking Us with Brené Brown (podcast)
Will: Light Year by Adam Melchor feat. Lennon Stella, Evermore by Taylor Swift, How to Save a Planet (podcast)
Danielle: telepatía by Kali Uchis
Eating/drinking:
Randy: Milk tea!
Kendall: lots of fresh fruit, avocado toast with TJs sourdough bread and feta cheese, strawberry lemonade Synergy kombucha
Claire: mixed fruit with tajin, chickpeas in any form, La Croix (#TeamPamplemousse)
Taryn: apple sauce squeezes, Trader Joe’s frozen foods, smoothies
Eryn: shrimp tacos, vegan chickpea white chili, creamy vegan southwest pasta salad, all the summer fruits!
Will: A lot of Otter Pops!
Enjoying:
Randy: learning/relearning a new language!
Claire: hand-lettering, digital illustration, Trader Joe’s fresh flowers
Taryn: playing ukulele, journaling, running
Sasha: surfing and hiking
Becky: cycling, gardening
Will: Ripstiking!
Paola: I recently tried macramé - who knew knots could make something beautiful!
Buying:
Randy: Dance Dance Revolution Pad
Theo: Local restaurants!
Kendall: supporting my friend’s new small business (@everyonescollective on Instagram) that sells all sorts of sustainable and eco-friendly products
Claire: Borba Farms produce - it’s not only great produce but also run by close family friends!
Eryn: SewAttachedByAsh (on Etsy), @browngrrl.fly (on Instagram)
Danielle: small business t-shirts with unique designs (@bykystudios and @bossmomnation)
Travelling to (as things begin to open up and we get vaccinated):
Randy: Going to Hawaii!
Claire: Hope to visit Croatia and Ireland (where my family is from)...maybe for my honeymoon if things have generally resumed in time.
Sasha: Hoping to visit Banff National Park!
Eryn: California road tips to San Luis Obispo, Hermosa Beach, and Muir Woods in Marin County
Becky: Heading to Cape Cod to visit family and friends
Will: Hoping to visit my cousins in Austria!
Paola: I’d love to visit all 50 U.S. states, so I’m eyeing a trip to Florida soon!
Recommending:
Randy: Jairen Tea near SCU is pretty good!
Claire: Find a podcast that makes you laugh and listen to it on an afternoon walk away from screens. I kid you not, building this 20 minutes a day into my schedule has been life-changing.
Sasha: Yellowstone National Park is a must-see American destination!
Danielle: I wish in high school I would have known to pick at least one international news outlet to follow. It’s good to get a global perspective on US-related events -- and to just keep up to date on world issues.
