By Katie LaMaster
Summer is in full swing in Charleston, SC. Tourists fill the streets each day on their way to historical sites or one of the many beaches nearby. The College of Charleston campus is much quieter than the average weekday as many students have left for the summer.
But what is it that those students who stay in Charleston do during the summer? It’s not all trips to the beach with friends and nights out at the bars.
Many students stay behind to work, others to take classes. Jobs vary from being a nanny to parking cars, and all come with a wide range of interesting experiences and stories.
One girl, Two boys…and a Turtle?
Katherine Banks has spent the summer in Charleston every year since she was born, so it was only natural that she decided to do it again.
She also wanted to stay for her job. Banks has been a nanny for a family in the Charleston area since August 2007.
As a rising College of Charleston senior, majoring in early childhood education, the experience is one that she adores. “I love working with kids, and I love the adventures we go on every day,” she said.
One of Katherine’s favorite adventures with the boys she looks after was a day at the South Carolina Aquarium.
After stopping one boy from pulling fish out of a tank, she turned to find the other had managed to get his hands on a turtle. It took all that she had not to laugh at how serious the three-year-old boy was about keeping the turtle and taking it home with him.
Luckily for Katherine she managed to get the turtle safely back in his tank before aquarium workers caught sight of the attempted turtle heist.
Apart from the aquarium, Katherine and the boys generally split up the days between trips to the beach, pool or playground. There is one downside, however, to a life of sandcastles, swimsuits and popsicles. “Kids have bad days and that can make them really hard to deal with,” said Banks.
During her days off, Sundays, and after work, Banks frequents Jestine’s Kitchen and cherishes the Charleston heat.
Just Another Semester of School
Many students choose to take a summer class or two, but this summer Andrew Budreau is taking 13 hours of class. And he is working at East Bay Deli.
Budreau, a rising senior at CofC, recently switched from being a biology major to a physical education major with a concentration in health promotion. The switch has left him a little behind, but he is working hard to graduate on time.
The 13 hours he is taking this semester will help catch him up. And for those who think that summer school is a breeze, think again. Budreau’s summer is filled with challenging classes including anatomy and nutrition.
While not in class Budreau is either working or hanging out with friends on the beach.
He works short shifts at the deli cooking, grilling, doing dishes and preparing food. So far he has nothing negative to say about his job.
He has a great time with his co-workers, talking about random topics. “Today we were talking about a zombie apocalypse,” Budreau said. “Everyone chose a weapon of choice to fight them, and now the list of weapons is hanging up in the deli.”
You’ve Never Seen the Ocean?
Although New Hampshire-native Devin Kerrigan is enjoying the Charleston heat this summer, it is a little too hot to handle when he’s working. As a bellman at Harborview Inn, he spends much of his working hours running up and down the stairs of a parking garage and carrying luggage.
Kerrigan chose to stay in Charleston for the summer because he was looking for something different. And he is happy with his decision to stay.
Although there is the occasional visitor to the hotel who is unappreciative of the work Kerrigan does, he enjoys the professional atmosphere of working at Harborview. “It’s a great, extremely high paced job,” he said, “and supposedly there is upward mobility in the company which is always a plus.”
One of the many upsides to his job is “getting to meet so many different people from all over the world.” “It is cool to hear where all the guests are from,” Kerrigan said, “There was even one the other day who had never seen the ocean.”
Previously working two jobs at once, Kerrigan cherishes time off. He uses his days off for running errands, doing laundry and, of course, trips to the beach.
He has been living in Charleston for almost a year, and there are still many things he wants to do.
Although he has tried out many lowcountry restaurants, he hasn’t had a chance to visit any of the plantations nearby. He is also eager to take a historical tour of the city.
As for those things he has had a chance to explore in the Charleston area, his recommendations include restaurants like Magnolias and 82 Queen. He is also a fan of the bars on Market St and East Bay St.
“A New Life in Three Months"
Not every student who is living in Charleston this summer is a student from the College of Charleston. Sibylle Faure is a student from Lyon, France who has been studying in the United States for the past year.
Faure spent the last year studying at the University of Missouri and is working in Charleston for the summer. She returns to France at the end of August.
Faure is taking full advantage of living in Charleston, while working full time at her internship for cookware company Le Creuset. Currently, she is working on the creative and marketing sides of a new development at the company.
Faure uses her time off to explore the city and visit the surrounding beaches. “I like the fact that it is a vacation city,” Faure said. She also loves that the city has a lot of history and is a fan of the “little streets”.
Although her life in Charleston has been a lot of fun, planning her three months here was not easy. She applied for many internships before landing her current one at Le Creuset. She also believes she looked at “about 300” houses and apartments on craigslist before finding her current place.
The hardest part, Faure said, was getting an extension on her visa. She began the process in January and it took all of second semester to complete the process, as she had to fill out multiple request forms and apply for a Social Security Number.
The experience of living in the US has been bittersweet for Faure. While she loves meeting new people and getting to travel to new places, she misses her friends, family and boyfriend back home.
She struggles with limiting her time on Internet voice-calling program Skype. “Some days I want to just enjoy my life here, so I tell myself ‘no Skype today’. But other days I spend hours talking to my friends in France,” Faure said.
Overall she describes her summer in Charleston as “a new life in three months.”
Not Just Another Day at the Beach
Summer in Charleston may sound like days full of soaking up the sun on Sullivan’s Island, or surfing at Folly Beach, but these four students know that that is not always the case.
In reality, beach days for these students are more commonly found scattered in between hours spent hard at work at a variety of jobs and in a variety of classes.
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