State College is typically pretty quiet during Thanksgiving break. Most students use the time to go back home. But some students choose to stay in State College the entire week for different reasons.
Some decide to stay because of work responsibilities like Bart Szostak, who works at Red Lobster, 1670 N. Atherton St.
“I have to work eight days with multiple shifts starting this Friday and ending next Saturday,” Szostak (senior-electrical engineering). said. “It didn’t make sense to go home for a couple of days and come rushing back right after.”
On Thanksgiving Day, he plans to sleep in, buy food, make dinner and watch football.
For the Hawely, Pa. native, this will be his first Thanksgiving away from home. He still plans to keep in touch with his family, he said.
“I’ll probably talk to my parents and brother for about one to two hours on Skype,” Szostak said. “Maybe I’ll eat with them through there too.”
As for the day after Thanksgiving, he plans to wake up early and shop on Black Friday for himself and family.
Another reason a student might stay the whole week would be to catch the last two home football games against Indiana and Wisconsin.
Karisa Maxwell plans to root the Nittany Lions on.
“I want to be there to support the team,” Maxwell (senior-broadcast journalism) said.
For Thanksgiving Day, she plans to cook dinner and spend time with friends who also had to stay.
Maxwell said she usually spends Thanksgiving with family in Florida. But this year, she plans to meet with them the day after.
“They’re coming up for the Wisconsin game, and then we’re having dinner,” Maxwell said. “I’m not too upset about it because I’ll only go five days without seeing them.”
Some students like Mitra Zolfaghari live in State College throughout their college tenure but still think of family in other places.
“My parents live here in town, but most of my family are in Oregon,” Zolfaghari (senior-broadcast journalism) said.
The last time she spent Thanksgiving in Oregon was her freshman year. She said there were some differences between the two settings.
“In Oregon, there is a lot more food and it feels more like a party atmosphere,” Zolfaghari said. “In State College, because it’s my parents and I, it’s more of a family setting.”
