While a majority of Class of 2022 plans to spend their second semester participating in the Irene and Daniel Simpkins Capstone Trip, 15 seniors chose to make alternate plans, whether for athletic commitments, a desire to use the second semester as they please or something else entirely.

For senior Juliano Perczek, it was his commitment and dedication to his sport that motivated him to stay home.

“I just can’t take three months off of playing soccer because playing in college, going into your first year, if you haven’t played for three months, the coaches are going to be like are you committed to this? It’s not just something I do for fun; it’s something I’ve dedicated my life to,” Perczek said. 

Another reason Perczek chose not to attend the trip was so that he could have other cultural and academic experiences. Although he is hoping to travel to Europe potentially playing soccer, taking classes and learning a new language, Perczek is not sure what he will be able to do due to the pandemic.  

 “I think I’m in a position where, worst case scenario, I can get an internship here whether virtual or not and a job,” Perczek said. “I could still learn French,… and I could take some classes at the community college or something [to] be able to start figuring out what I want to study.”

Similar to Perczek, senior Raya Schwartz is staying home to pursue her sport. As a competitive crew athlete who committed to Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Schwartz is unable to take four months off from training. 

Additionally, Schwartz wanted to stay home from the Israel trip so that she could take an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) class at the Takoma Park Fire Station. While this has interested her in the past, she could not find time in her schedule. 

After coming to the understanding that she was going to be home for the second semester, Schwartz decided to engage in college courses to further occupy her time. 

“I know that I will be enrolled in some classes at Montgomery College just to get a head start, get a feel of what college classes are like, and I’ll be working with an executive functioning coach, just because I really want to prepare myself for going to college,” Schwartz said.

Whereas Perczek and Schwartz were primarily motivated to stay home from the trip in order to pursue their respective sport, senior Ellie Hasenberg was motivated by her desire to attend a unique program called Seamester which will be taking place between Feb. 10 and May 10.  

“It’s on a sailboat for 90 days in the Caribbean. It’s marine biology and scuba diving, so I’m getting 12 college credits as well in Marine Science and Biology, and it’s just something I’m never going to be able to do again, so it seemed like the right decision,” Hasenberg said.   

Hasenberg, Perczek and Schwartz acknowledge that the Israel trip could be an amazing experience for some but feel that it is not the best fit for them.

“I think I would have still not gone on the trip because [of] the opportunity to take six months and have an experience … taking classes or learning a language or doing something original,” Perczek said. “… I really want to do something that will allow me to grow as a person.”