March 19, 2014

by Samantha Phillips

Spring semester can be brutal in Wisconsin. Winter can drag all the way into March, but there is one week most students look forward to: Spring Break.

Whether traveling somewhere warm and tropical or staying local, Spring Break is a much-needed week to rejuvenate from the college grind.

Traveling to Florida or Mexico can be pricey for a college student, but sometimes it is exactly what students need. UW-Whitewater senior Brandon Shaw has helped make Spring Break dreams come true by offering a simple and inexpensive trip to Panama City Beach, Fla., for UW-W students. Shaw is the promotional manager at Ballin’ On A Budget, a business that for three years has been offering trips to Panama City Beach for only $550. That includes transportation, hotel stay and club covers for the whole week.

The first trip through the company started in UW-Madison.

“The first trip was so successful we realized there was a strong market for this organization,” Shaw said. “We decided to organize something bigger and at different universities.”

Shaw said he is glad UW-W students have responded well to the group, but would like to spread the word even further than Whitewater.

“We are trying to reach out to the general student population now that we are established,” Shaw said.

About 50 Whitewater students will leave campus on Friday, March 21, to head down to Florida. Shaw is already there preparing for the students’ arrival.

Not everybody has the opportunity to travel during Spring Break. It also can be a good time to get ahead of the financial demands of college. UW-Whitewater senior Kari Watt is staying in town.

“I’ll be staying here to work,” Watt said. “However, I am going to Punta Cana with my family a few weeks after, if that counts.”

Even though Watt has to wait a couple weeks longer, she still will get a dream vacation after working during her spring break.

“I’ve never been there before,” Watt said.  “I’m so excited for some real warmth.”

UW-Whitewater junior Molly Petri has been traveling more in the last three months than most people have in their life. Petri is currently studying abroad in the United Kingdom and has a spring break trip planned that most would be grateful to take.

“We are going to Greece and staying in Santorini,” Petri said. “Basically where they filmed ‘Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.’”

Petri could not contain her excitement for the trip that she and her best friend, Kailee Nyman, will take.

“Last year I was sitting in my bed watching Netflix during spring break,” Petri said. “This year’s doesn’t compare at all.”

While in Greece, Petri said she plans to tour the city, hike, relax by the pool and jump off a cliff.

If anyone is interested in getting involved in Ballin’ On A Budget’s Spring Break trips, contact Shaw at [email protected].