If anyone ever has any questions about what it's like to be an EXPLO student, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone more knowledgeable than Addie. Back for a seventh(!) summer of EXPLO magic, Addie has already had an exciting and jam-packed session — and we're only halfway through! Read on to learn what's brought Addie back to EXPLO seven summers in a row.
What have you been up to in your course today?
We're learning how to make print-out ads in Marketing + Advertising. I chose Spotify, and I just finished making a print-out ad for it. I don't use Spotify, but I really like music, and the other people in my group really wanted to do Spotify, so I was like, "Sure!" I've never really done anything business-like in the years I've been at EXPLO before, and I feel like this is a good step into the business world, if I ever wanted to pursue that kind of career.
What's made you keep coming back to EXPLO for seven years?
Just meeting new people and having a great time! I feel like one thing I do at EXPLO in a day would be like my whole day at home. There's just so much to do in a day, and it keeps me occupied! It's also just a lot of fun letting your creativity go everywhere. A lot of my interests actually came from EXPLO, like theatre. I took an improv class at EXPLO before I started theatre at home. I really liked it, so I started theatre the next year, (in fourth grade), and I just kept doing it. Also, interior design is something I started liking here.
Do you have a favorite EXPLO memory from any of your seven summers?
The last year I was here — in 2019 — I went to a face-painting activity with my two best friends, and we wrote "Best Friends Forever" on our faces.
What are you most looking forward to about the rest of this session?
I think just getting closer with the friends that I've made here. And also going to the amusement park!
In one sentence, how would you sum up what EXPLO means to you?
EXPLO is a place where you can feel safe to be yourself, and you can meet people who like you for you.
Victoria Lyons