Last Weeks of Sophomore Spring!

May 10, 2026

By Raquel Rodriguez '28

Raquel Rodriguez '28

Hi there! I'm Raquel, a sophomore in the Geosciences Department pursuing minors in Statistics & Machine Learning and Finance. On campus, I am involved in the Princeton Conservation Society which organizes experiential learning events to showcase the ecosystems found in NJ to students. I'm also a part of the Women's Club Basketball team and I do volunteer work regarding digital literacy skills with the Pace Center for Civic Engagement. Feel free ... Read more

I have wrapped up my finals, my inbox is filled with senior sales, and I am packing up my stuff for summer storage. Sophomore year is essentially over :(

 

With summer break a few days away, I know that I will miss Princeton and all my friends, so I’m writing this blog to reminisce on the spring semester. Mostly, I will focus on the month of April because there were lots of side quests that I went on :D

 

  • I visited the Jersey shore for the first time ever with the Princeton Conservation Society. We volunteered at a beach cleanup and logged all the different pieces of trash we found. There were so many horseshoe crab molts laying around the sand dunes!

A group photo of PCS volunteering at the Jersey Shore.
  • Over the past semester, I’ve worked with the Office of Sustainability to improve outdoor lighting and reduce light pollution on campus, so I went to a light design conference in NYC with the other student researcher, Bonnie, on the project to pitch our work with lighting designers. 

Bonnie (the other student researcher on this project) and I standing before a LEDucation banner.
  • I celebrated Declaration Day! Now, I am an official Geosciences major! Dec Day has become my favorite Princeton tradition because it is such an amazing way to bond with all my classmates: taking photos with different banners, eating free food from the food trucks, and wearing our matching 2028 sweatshirts.

A few of the new Geosciences majors posing before the GEO banner.
Solo picture of me posing with the GEO banner.
  • The club basketball team traveled to Brown University for the annual Ivy League Women’s Club Basketball Tournament. Over two days, we played four games against Brown, Harvard, Dartmouth, and Cornell. We had a great time in Rhode Island!

The traveling team that represented Princeton University at the Ivy League Tournament.
  • Campus Rec hosted its annual campus-wide Dodgeball Tournament where residential colleges and eating clubs can play against each other. Then, in smaller brackets, clubs and any other groups can join in on the fun! There were free shirts, pizza and smoothies all evening, as the tournament went on from 6 PM to 2 AM. 

Some of the women's club basketball team wearing their newly earned shirts from the Dodgeball tournament.
  • This excursion has no relation to Princeton, but I want to include it to show how accessible Philadelphia is to Princeton! I took an Amtrak train to visit my friend at UPenn, and it was so easy to get there. The train made a stop at Princeton Junction (the closest public transit hub) and it only took me forty minutes to get to Philly. Anyway, my friend and I had a fun time trying different food spots around UPenn.

The text in the image reads "Amtrak Welcomes You to Philadelphia."
My friend and I took photos at a burrito place near UPenn.
  • To celebrate the end of classes, the Undergraduate Student Government got Fetty Wap to headline the Spring 2026 Lawnparties! The crowd was larger than I’ve ever seen at Lawnparties, and it was a beautiful day out.

My friends and I in front of the SPIA Fountain before the headliner started.
The crowd at Lawnparties when Fetty Wap was on the stage.

 

Disclaimer: Let it be known that I was still on the academic grind, but I was just particularly social in April. 

 

Anyhow, I make this whole blog to say that college is a time for new experiences and memories beyond academics and studying. 

 

To the readers, I hope you all have an amazing summer filled with lots of fun! I’ll be back in the fall!