Hear from East alumni about their winter break plans

Colby Facklam:

East alum Colby Facklam, now a sophomore at the University of Indiana, plans to stay busy over his extra long winter break — working up to six hours a day, five days a week as a UPS driver.

With interest in working out and searching for future internships, Facklam is taking his break to spend time in Bloomington and working on himself, as opposed to coming back to KC. 

Facklam’s classes did not end early, he is still attending classes for two weeks following Thanksgiving break. 

“I got a job before Thanksgiving Break so I could work here while I’m still taking classes. I will be working at UPS as a driver helper,” Facklam said. “I am currently staying in Bloomington, until a couple of days before Christmas, which is when I plan to head back home”.

Facklam doesn’t plan to kick back and relax until he is officially back in Kansas City for Christmas and New Year’s — until then he will stay busy working.

With such a long break this year, Facklam is taking this time to to live by himself and focus on and mental health — understanding the responsibilities it takes to live on his own. 

“Living on my own has really formed me into a young adult, and taught me a number of lessons I wouldn’t have learned if I were to be living at home with my mom or dad,” Facklam said.

Hayden Talge:

Shutting his laptop and driving back from Baker University, East alum and current college freshman Hayden Talge left campus with a plan of fitness, working and a little bit of fun over his long winter break this year. 

Not returning back to Baker until Jan. 24, Talge plans to spend his break preparing for baseball season and working to make money. 

Talge has applied to Target and Home Depot in hopes of getting a job to keep him busy and make spending money over his long break. 

“I feel like I will have some free time,” Talge says, “Most of my time here will be productive and will most likely be spent training and working out.”

Talge’s coach assigned the team a Baker’s pitching and throwing routine to practice and warm up to, along with weights and conditioning that Talge plans to do on his own.

“I do like having a long break but I will miss some aspects of being on campus. And it’s a good break from being overworked with all the pressure of the first semester,” Talge said. 

Tinka McCray:

Wishing she was back on campus tailgating in her cowgirl boots, East alumni and TCU junior Tinka McCray recently returned home for her extended break.

“I don’t like having a long break,” McCray said, “It’s nice to see family and friends at home, but I do wish that I was back in Fort Worth right after Christmas.”

McCray plans to fill her time with busy work such as babysitting and doing DoorDash runs for a majority of the break.

When she’s not working or seeing friends and family, McCray plans to use up some of her free time by searching for jobs and internships for summer of 2021. McCray hopes that through updating and designing her current resume and writing cover letters, she can eventually find work in different areas of the country or internationally.

“I’m going to spend the majority of my time traveling to visit friends and family want to take advantage of the long break so I can do things otherwise not be able to do on a regular college break,” McCray said.

McCray will return to campus Jan. 19, 2021, with a mix of online and in-person classes.