Interterm, more traditionally regarded as the three-week extension to the festive holiday break and a euphemism for the bleakest period of a bleak New England winter, has taken on little new meaning for many students this January. Save a handful of sports teams, thesis-writing seniors and a few souls who preferred doing nothing at the College to doing nothing at home, there was hardly a soul in sight across the College for much of Interterm. Nevertheless, quite a few students found meaningful employment both on- and off-campus, and while some experiences were very memorable and others tough, almost all were a refreshing change.

The men's and women's swim teams spent a week in Puerto Rico training, relaxing, hiking, snorkeling and being caught in tropical rains. "We had a fabulous time, and although the training was sometimes really hard, there were great people in my lane who eased the pain of distance swimming and made the whole trip more than worthwhile. I didn't get my tan, though," said Jennifer Lewkowitz '08. She also attributed the team's good performance in the recent meet against Hamilton College to the training in Puerto Rico. "It was just great being in Puerto Rico again, training away from the freezing conditions here."

Andy Taylor '06 participated in a geology field trip to Hawaii organized jointly by Amherst and Smith Colleges. "The thing about geology is that there're a lot of things you can't see in the classrooms or even in the environment around here, so in Hawaii we had the opportunity to learn about the formations and see the outcrops we've been reading about," he explained. Staying in a military camp in the middle of a national park, seeing live lava flows and visiting Mt. Kilaeua were all part of an "amazing 10 days."

Paige Fern '08 also spent much of her Interterm in warmer climes, albeit in a rather more subdued environment. Holidaying in Southeast Asia, a scheduled trip to Phuket was cancelled in the wake of the killer tsunamis generated by an earthquake off Sumatra. "It was devastating. Everywhere we went, we met someone who had lost somebody. One man we talked to in Jakarta had lost his whole family," she said. "There was just a sense of shock and disbelief." The scale of tragedy prompted her to look for practical means to help the victims once back in the United States.

In New York City, Brad Haynes '07 volunteered at the Amistad Dual Language School in the south Bronx as an Urban Education intern working in a dual-immersion, bilingual kindergarten class. He woke at 6 a.m. every day for an hour-long commute, spending long, tiring days helping the teachers and contributing as much as he could to the children's education. The knowledge that he was gaining far more than he sacrificed sustained him. "I got to work on my Spanish in the real world, see emergent literacy and bilingualism first-hand, learn what it means to be a public school teacher from day to day and just enjoy being around these little kids who were so excited about the world," he said.

Also working for a non-profit organization in New York was Debby Goan '07, who had a Winternship with the Asian-American Legal Defense & Education Fund. She clocked long hours helping to tackle voter discrimination and studying the efficacy of the Help Americans Vote Act. "It was an intense experience," she said. "Working till 11 p.m. most nights became a bit overwhelming at first, but as I went on it was really very rewarding ... [and although] I realized I was giving up time with my family, it was definitely time well spent."

On campus, students were encouraged to take advantage of a series of activities organized by Keefe Campus Center as well as various non-credit courses. Eugene Ho '05, who went on the excursions to Boston and Northampton (bowling), thought the activities were well planned though lacking in frequency. "Both trips I took part in were organized pretty well, and particularly cool were the free tickets to the [New England] Aquarium," he said. "There could definitely have been more trips planned." He conceded, however, that only the more popular activities would be well attended while others would be cancelled for lack of interest.

Seniors with theses to finish had perhaps the most productive Interterm at Amherst, far removed from the distractions of family and friends from home and college. Said Psychology major Lauren Anderson '05, "Interterm's a good time to hang around and spend time with friends in the evenings while being able to work on my senior thesis in the day and not having the responsibility of classes."

As students re-familiarize themselves with classrooms, Valentine food and the numbing cold, some will be pleased to be back, feeling refreshed from their vacations or just eager to begin classes again. Others will doubtless look back on Interterm and wish, however uneventful it might have turned out, that it could have lasted just a couple of weeks longer.