As soon as finals concluded, everyone got the heck out of Dodge. Or in this case, College Station. I did too, for a brief time. But I soon returned after a few days, having to start work at a new job.
The job was one on campus, working on a research project. If you aren’t an Aggie, I’ll let you in on a little secret: Aggies new to be involved in at least one research project during their time in Aggieland. It’s an unspoken, but vital rule. I have been involved in one since freshman year, but my position was more as a test subject/assistant than a researcher. (I worked as a mentor for 5th and 6th grades, teaching the provided subject matter. My teaching effectiveness was recorded and will be further studied. I also helped to set up the recording material).
But now, I am working on a different project with more of a researcher’s role – yay me. But this new job started as soon as school finished. So I have wandered the campus – because the lab is located on campus – while school has not been in session. And let me tell you, it is an empty place. All the restaurants and dining halls are closed. The dorms are uninhabited. And the buildings are vacated, with the exception of a lone worker wandering the halls. What is normally bustling with activity and noise is now a ghost town.
It is a surprise when I see another face on my walk home. I am curious as to how this will change when the summer session officially starts. How many souls will return to this abandoned campus. I already know of a few returning after their two week vacations. But from what I have heard, it will still feel skeletal compared to Fall and Spring.