Summer Plans for the Class of 2018

This summer, our second-year students are not only working hard in their clinical rotations, but they’re also taking time to experience more of Pittsburgh!

When I’m not working at improving my skills as a Genetic Counselor at my rotations, I plan on enjoying the running trails at Schenley Park, trying some new restaurants, and -above all else- getting some wonderful iced tea from Gryphon’s and Bantha! -Meg Hager

Enjoying some tea while working at Bantha
Tea Bar in Bloomfield.

A few of us have decided to take on the Tough Mudder this fall! This summer I will be training for that. -Seth Lascurain

I have been slowly working my way through a list of bakeries, cafes and restaurants in Pittsburgh that I’d like to try. I’ve also been seeing a lot of movies at Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville, which has a new movie theme each week. -Emily Mazzei

I am taking advantage of every farmers market and food truck event I can get my hands on this summer! Pittsburgh has some sort of fun food event going on every weekend, and I am making an effort to experience as many of them as possible. -Julia Stone

This summer I am going to take advantage of the warm weather and do one of my favorite things: go to a Pirates game and enjoy the view of North Shore! -Joya Petersen

One of my favorite summer activities in Pittsburgh is talking walks around the many beautiful parks and petting all of the cute dogs! I also enjoy biking on the trails that run along the rivers. -Jackie Amurgis

A shot of Pittsburgh from the Three Rivers Heritage Trail on
a cloudy, summer day.

Summer weekends are for camping and hiking! I’m looking forward to continuing exploring the state parks in the area. I got started over Memorial Day weekend with Fernwood State Forest (which is actually in Ohio!) and Raccoon Creek State Forest in PA. -Emily Spoth

In addition to enjoying the change of scenery from classes to clinical rotations, I am going to get back into running outdoors; enjoy some cafes around Pittsburgh that I have yet to try; attend some summer festivals and street fairs; and despite the humidity, still be relieved about the summer temperature differences between my Arizona home and my Pittsburgh home. -Jenni Peck

Along the lines of some of my classmates, this summer, my goals are to improve my cooking skills and my 5k time! I am working on trying out a new recipe every week, using ingredients from the farmers markets around the city, and running at least one race each month, finishing in front of a faster pacer each time. -Julia Verbiar

My summer bucket list includes going to a Pirates game, visiting a lot of parks, and hopefully making it out to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. We are also continuing our second year’s tradition of going to a different happy hour every Thursday after class! -Claire Leifeste

I’m spending as much time as possible finding nice places to read outside, cooking with fresh farmer’s market foods, and checking out fun festivals! My mom, sister, and I went to Mattress Factory art museum, Randyland, and the Cathedral of Learning over Memorial Day, so I’m inspired to do more sight-seeing again. -Kaitlin Sullivan

The Class of 2018