After a long and exhausting fall semester, students and faculty at Florida Gulf Coast University will have a chance to rest up and get ready for 2015. Most people look forward to winter break and a chance to get away from the college life for a while.
This time off allows everyone to recover from an exhausting semester of book reports, exams, papers and other assignments.
Professors also need this time off to prepare for the upcoming semester that begins Jan. 5. This is also the time for FGCU graduates to receive their degrees and walk with their fellow classmates in front of their friends and families.
“I’m going home to Sarasota and spend time with my family,” said Paige Oswald, FGCU journalism major.
“I’m going home to Jacksonville to go clay shooting and surfing,” said Tripp Dawson, FGCU marine biology student.
Professors will have final grades submitted by Dec. 16.
FGCU Athletics will be busy during the winter break with both the men’s and women’s basketball teams in action in December and January.
The FGCU Men’s Basketball team will make trips to New Rochelle, New York, to play Iona University; Cincinnati, Ohio, to take on Xavier and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to play the Pitt Panthers in December.
The FGCU Women’s Basketball team will take part in  Hawk Classic at Saint Joseph’s University on Dec. 28 and 29 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They will then head up to Boston, Massachusetts, to face Harvard University on Jan. 2 before retuning back home.
These games will prepare the Eagles for the Atlantic Sun regular season in early January.
“I’ll be going up to Philadelphia and Boston,” said Jamie Church, FGCU assistant director of athletics communication.