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TOLEDO, Ohio – Caroline Shipley, a philosophy senior, is one of many University of Toledo students with big plans for the time between graduating from UT and getting a job or attending graduate school.

“I think that it is really valuable sometimes to look at a big mountain instead of a computer screen,” Shipley said. “Sometimes everyone needs a break from the routine of school.”

Shipley said she hopes to spend the summer after her senior year traveling and farming at small organic farms throughout South America.

“For me, it would be a way to live and experience the world and do something important at the same time,” she said. “Farming is something that happens across the world. To speak a different language than someone but to be able to communicate by working together is something I want to experience.”

She said that even though organic farming can get a bad rap in the United States, it’s taken more seriously in South America and Europe.

“It seems like in the U.S., people think of it as kids just trying to travel for free and pull weeds in exchange, but the idea is that there is really specialized knowledge to be learned at organic farms,” she said.

She emphasized that the mixture of travel and education on an organic farming trip would keep some of the educational momentum moving between undergraduate and graduate study.

“I would want to go to farms that have the ability to carry out specialized projects,” Shipley said. “I think there’s a difference between just growing basic crops like beans and potatoes organically and learning more advanced things about organic farming that you can’t do yourself. Everybody knows that you can grow crops without pesticides, but not everyone can make more exotic things like cultured cabbage, for instance.”

Evan Jordan, an art senior, also wants to use the period after graduation to build on his experience and to prepare for the rigors of graduate school.

“I’m planning on taking a year off before grad school,” Jordan said. “One plan is to essentially just use it like another senior year but without schooling. I’d work, save up money and use that year to develop my art portfolio and make the best decision about grad school.

“I can also use that year not to be in school and have an identity as something other than a student for the first time in my life. I guess after public schooling and then five years of college, education starts to feel stagnant.”

Using that extra year might also rejuvenate his motivation for school, he said.

Jordan said he plans to do some traveling during his year off to scout places where he might later like to live, work or attend school.

“If I found a good job or if I started to zero in on a certain part of the country where there were grad schools I wanted to go to, I might start to move that way to get an idea of the area where I wanted to end up,” he said. “I think I’d be in Toledo for at least a few months before moving.”

Jordan, who spent a month in Germany through UT’s Darmstadt program, also has hopes of going back to Europe or doing some other traveling.

“I’d love to maybe check out Sweden,” he said. “Also, I’ve never been to California, and I’d like to visit L.A. to see if I’d like that area.”

Jordan said that Dubai, a city on the Persian Gulf, also sounds promising.

“It’s essentially just springing up overnight, and all the architecture is brand-new and cutting-edge,” he said. “For example, they’re building what will be the tallest building in the world.

“My friend Shannon mentioned how exciting it would be, and it sparked my imagination. A place where culture is developing so rapidly seems like a place that’s going to be an important world city, and I’d like to be there in its debut on the world scene.”