By Minnie Stephenson

Spring break is making its COVID-19 comeback.

COVID-19 has overshadowed spring vacation plans for the past two years. In 2020, University of Maryland students were sent home before spring break due to the onset of the pandemic. Last spring, most students studied online while they waited for vaccines. For most, traveling was an afterthought — or infeasible.

Now, students seem to be going anywhere and everywhere, including out of the country.

Madi Willoughby, a sophomore journalism major, is going to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with other members of her sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi. She said the trip was planned about a year in advance.

“Everybody at the time was like, ‘Oh, by then [COVID-19] won’t be a big deal,’” she said. “That was also a risk.”

Although she is concerned about COVID-19, Willoughby said she feels safe traveling. She is vaccinated and recently had the virus. Willoughby said she is ready to finally experience a real college spring break.

“I’m really excited because I feel like I’m gonna be in a movie,” she said.

Some students felt confident traveling last year. Samantha Scerbo, a junior psychology major, went to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with some friends for spring break 2021. She was already vaccinated then because she worked in a health care setting.

“I felt a little better about traveling because of that,” she said.

Scerbo said she feels comfortable going on a more extravagant trip this year. She plans to travel to Barcelona to visit friends studying abroad there. Scerbo said it already feels more like a typical spring break because she is seeing more people.

“I’m most excited about sightseeing because I’ve never been there before,” she said. “Definitely excited to go somewhere in Europe … and also see my friends who I haven’t seen in a while.”

Maya Ransome, a sophomore marketing major, is going to Puerto Rico with a friend. She flew to Miami in the winter. It was her first time on a plane since summer 2019. Ransome said she wants to take advantage of her free time, especially since she was only able to travel home for spring break last year.

Ransome said she’s excited to absorb all the culture of Puerto Rico.

“I really believe it’s important whenever you travel to not act like a tourist and really get to know some of the people who live there,” Ransome said.

While many students have planned trips abroad, others are staying closer to home. Sophomore computer engineering major Patrick Marinich is driving to the Outer Banks of North Carolina with his friends.

Marinich went home for last spring break — like many others. But he jumped on the opportunity to go somewhere this year.

The sophomore said he feels staying with his fully vaccinated friends poses a low COVID-19 risk and he is not that worried.

Marinich is looking forward to break for one main reason: “Not doing schoolwork,” he said.

Featured image: Sunset at Ocean Park Beach in Ocean Park, Maine, on July 30, 2017. Photo by Minnie Stephenson.