PLNU Students Trade Books For Boots on Fall Break

Point Loma Nazarene University’s annual fall break gives students two days off school – making a four-day weekend from Oct. 24-27. Students spent their breaks taking road trips, hiking, backpacking and camping.

Emma Nelson, a second-year psychology major, and second-year nursing majors Alyssa Lange and Emily Sheridan road tripped to Utah and camped in BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land in Virgin, Utah. While they were there, they hiked to the Emerald Pools in Zion National Park.  

Nelson said the highlight of her trip in three words was: laughter, sunsets and breathtaking. 

“We wanted to get out of California for fall break and road trip somewhere,” she said. “We were going to go to Wyoming at first and just make a stop in Zion but we decided we wanted to spend more time there instead and save Wyoming for another time.” 

They went on moderate hikes with gorgeous views, Nelson said. She siad she enjoyed camping on the BLM grounds and described it as, “acres of land that was empty with a bunch of van-lifers camping there.” 

They camped in one of the girl’s mom’s minivan, bringing along a camping stove to make pancakes the first morning and pasta that night. 

Making hotdogs on the side of the road in Zion was another highlight for Nelson because they shared them with other hikers, she said. They also read a chapter in the book of James from the Bible on the side of a mountain and “took in God’s creation,” she said. 

Lana Bertelli dos Anjos, a third-year dietetics and Christian studies double major stayed on campus, hung out with friends and studied. She volunteered with Loma Shares, PLNU’s food pantry, to help organize the shelves with new food and helped the cafeteria prepare meals for an event. 

Three words she used to describe her break were: restful, peaceful and fun. 

Julia Dombrowski, a third-year applied health science major; Elena Yoder, a third-year justice, peace and theology major; Brooke Inman, a third-year applied health science major and Savanna Warner, a first-year health and human performance major, backpacked in the Eastern Sierras in the John Muir Wilderness. 

They traveled to six Alpine lakes and camped in the backcountry. Then, they drove to Yosemite and camped for two nights on the valley floor. They hiked to Vernal and Nevada falls, watched the climbers on El Capitan and swam in one of the rivers. 

Dombrowski said her favorite part of the trip in three words was: “beholding God’s creation.” 

Carson Herr, a third-year commercial music major, went camping in Joshua Tree National Park with friends for one night. They decided to go to Joshua Tree because they had never been there before, Herr said.  

They hiked and drove around exploring. Since there were more free rocks to climb than trails to hike, they explored more in that realm. That evening, they made a fire and had hotdogs and s’mores. 

Herr described his favorite parts of the trip in three words: hiking, campfire and friends.  

Isabel Cheeseman, a third-year multimedia journalism major, went on a trip to Joshua Tree with Jesus Rocks, a rock climbing club at PLNU. 

“The trip with Jesus Rocks created a new space to get to know others in the climbing community,” she said. 

There were 25 people that went, according to Cheeseman, and they stayed in a group campground in the park. They climbed, camped and spent time together. 

She said she loved exploring a new place, and getting to know new friends. After an afternoon of climbing, they went back to the camp and ate tacos. Later that night, they sat around a campfire and listened to James Campbell, a third-year, give a message. 

“We all got to know each other through the trip, and I am so glad I met some new friends that share a love for climbing,” Cheeseman said.

Three words she used to describe her trip were: epic, climbing and exploring.

Makayla Seeger, a third-year nursing major, went on a road trip to Big Sur. She went with her sister Maile Seeger, a third year business major, and her friends Grace Homann, a fourth-year psychology major, Sierra Edgecomb, a third-year applied health major and Sheridan Loy, a third-year nutrition major. 

They camped at Ventana campground and explored the different parks and beaches within the park.  

“We decided to go there because it looked really beautiful and thought it would be fun to camp,” Seeger said. They hiked through the woods and to a waterfall viewpoint. 

Her favorite parts were the beautiful scenery and stopping by to see cows near the ocean, she said. Her least favorite part was the eight hour drive and being crammed with five people in a car.

Three words to describe her trip were: nature, waterfalls and ocean. 

Students said fall break was a great opportunity to travel. With PLNU being made up of many students who like to explore the outdoors and spend time with their friends, they took the opportunity to do so.