There are many reasons for students to stay in Moscow for the summer. These reasons can include anything from financial, to summer classes, to just wanting a summer away from the parents.
Matthew Cook, a University of Idaho junior, stayed in Moscow in order to attend summer school. He prefers to be in the classroom physically as opposed to taking online courses.
Cook said he also has a job in Moscow, giving him another reason to stay.
For Cook, home is Eagle River, Alaska. He said he prefers the Moscow summer weather and the freedom to go on spontaneous road trips.
Cook went home to Alaska during the summer after his freshman year at UI and said it wasn’t the same experience as staying in Moscow for him.
“I don’t think I would go home for the summer again unless I had a really good paying job. Christmas is enough for me,” Cook said.
Only a few of Cook’s friends stayed in Moscow for the summer, which caused him to become closer with those friends that did stay.
“With the little amount of people staying, you make new friends because you’re almost forced to,” Cook said. “But then it ends up being a really good friendship in my experience.”
Abigail Toevs is a sophomore from Aberdeen, a small town in Southeast Idaho. She decided to go home for the summer because she wanted a break from being an adult.
“It’s pretty nice having someone else buy your Pop-Tarts and coffee,” Toevs said.
She said she doesn’t think she would ever stay in Moscow for a summer because she feels it’s good to get some variety in life, and she’s not really a homebody.
Toeys said most of the people she knows from Moscow headed home for the summer as well.
Maggie Saye, UI junior, decided to stay in Moscow this summer because she got a job in March that she was told wouldn’t be easy to get in Idaho Falls, her hometown. Staying in Moscow has also allowed her to get a better sense of a more diverse and open community, she said.
“At this point I wouldn’t choose to go home for an entire summer because I’d rather have some new experiences outside of southeastern Idaho,” Saye said.
The best part about staying in Moscow for Saye has been the culture variety and the laid back feeling she gets from the community.
“It’s nice going to work and going home to relax without the watchful eyes of my parents,” she said.
Molly Spencer can be reached at [email protected]