While Auburn students are living at home, studying abroad or taking summer classes, many professors occupy their time outside the classroom.
Biology professor Matt Kearley uses the summer semesters to teach classes he would not normally be able to teach in the fall or spring.
This summer, Kearley will be teaching a vertebrate biodiversity class.
In this class, Kearley takes students on field trips to various locations near Auburn.
"We will go out in beaver ponds and we will wade around and catch fish," Kearley said. "We get to go out and identify frogs and frog calls and see snakes and birds and all the different types of vertebrates."
Kearley said students in his class will get a hands-on experience with the vertebrates that they are studying in their classes.
Possible field trips include traveling to Eufaula, Alabama, to view alligators at night or going kayaking in the Gulf of Mexico.
"We will take the students out on a boat and they can see things that a lot of students don't usually get to see," Kearley said. "It offers us a few more options. It's still a lot of work, but it's different."
During semester breaks, Kearley plans to travel abroad.
In past summers, Kearley visited Peru and Costa Rica and is currently deciding what trip to take.
"It's good for my classes that are during the year because I can see the things that we talk about, and I get to see some of the things first-hand that come from lecture," Kearley said. "It's good to be able to relate to that on a personal level."
Similar to Kearley, Nicolatta Serenata, Italian professor, said she plans to travel abroad this summer.
Serenata said her trip is not just a vacation, however.
Serenata said she plans to follow the release of her first edited book, "The Ndrangheta and Sacra Corona Unita."
"I am also working on my second book on the Apulian Mafia: 'The Sarca Corona Unita,'" Sernata said.
Serenata said she also plans to travel around Italy, her home country.
While there, she will set up interviews for her second book.
Although many professors travel abroad, Ana Hewlett, graduate teaching assistant, is staying in Auburn.
"We pretty much do the same things that y'all do," Hewlett said. "We either teach more classes, which I'm doing, or you can take classes if you're still in grad school."
This summer, Hewlett said she will be completing her internship at the Auburn Alumni Association by doing technical writing for the association.
Hewlett also plans to teach two communication classes.
Hewlett said she plans to take weekend trips to the beach.
"I am going to Point Clear and possibly Gulf Shores later in the summer," Hewlett said. .
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