By Myung Jin Lee
For many students, spring break is just around the corner – unless they are on co-op. However, now Northeastern’s campus can be added to the list of spring break hot spots.
Co-op Connections, an office within Student Affairs that provides programs and services to students preparing for or participating in Northeastern’s Cooperative Education, has prepared some on-campus events for co-op students from March 3 to March 9.
“Our main goal is to bring student life to students on co-op, and we do this through a variety of programs and services tailored to the unique needs of the Northeastern co-op students,” said Sonya Mariotti, the manager of Co-op Connections.
Mariotti said she and her colleagues strive to be the students’ “link to university life.” They send monthly newsletters and plan joint programs to strengthen relationships between the school and students.
“Co-op Spring Break is one of our signature programs,” she said. “The response has been quite positive.”
Next week’s events include a spring break kick-off event, a co-op luncheon, the Celtics vs. Detroit Pistons game, the Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs game, a Mexican cooking class, a trip to see the Tony Award-winning musical “The Life” at the Boston Conservatory Theatre and several yoga classes.
“The events chosen for the week change each year and are based on local events and NU athletic events,” Mariotti said.
Mariotti said most events are based on feedback they received from students participating in years past. Yoga, for example, was popular last year, so Co-op Connections brought it back this year.
“We try to offer a variety of events that will appeal to many people,” Mariotti said.
She said this year they received more student input than ever.
“I am very proud of the series we have been able to put together,” she said.
The last Co-op Spring Break event will be “Ace of Cakes,” where students participating in a cake-decorating contest will show off their works of art Sunday.
“We have over 200 people signed up for our co-op spring break events, and we are all very excited about this year’s series of events,” said Alexa Harper-Lewis, a co-op student at Co-op Connections.
Harper-Lewis also said the sports events are already sold out.
Catherine Roney, a sophomore biology major, is doing her co-op at the Northeastern’s Marine Science Center in Nahant, and has to work through spring break. She said she heard about the Co-op Spring Break events through several e-mails.
“I think it’s a good idea,” she said. “Some of the events require a fee to participate, but the ideas sound relaxing and interesting.”
However, several events are during the day, so some cannot participate while at work.
“I may participate in an event if I am around,” she said.
Lisa Cook, a middler nursing major on co-op at Mass General Hospital, said she is interested in participating in the program.
“I have heard of co-op spring break and wanted to sign up for a couple of the events,” she said. “It sounds fun.”
Cook said she enjoys cooking so she is interested in the Mexican cooking class scheduled for March 6. She said she likes Mexican food, but has never had a chance to learn how to cook it.
At the end of the week, Co-op Connections will be surveying all students who participated in Co-op Spring Break to get a sense of what students liked and what their suggestions are for next year.
