With four weeks off for semester break, NIU students and faculty got out of their school routines and found other ways to occupy their time.

NIU senior Mike Law, a sociology major, spent his break working as an undercover security guard for a major department store in Schaumburg.

“My job was to prevent retail theft and to detain people who were shoplifting,” Law said.

Despite working 40 hours a week, Law said he still had time to go shopping and to celebrate New Year’s Eve with his friends.

NIU senior Lauren Becker, a nursing major, also spent her time working over break. She said she worked full-time as a nurse’s aide at Humana Hospital in Hoffman Estates.

“I worked a lot, I shopped a lot, I partied a lot and I thought about school as little as possible,” Becker said.

While most NIU students were able to go home, some students had to stay in DeKalb.

Mike Ensweiler, who graduated from NIU in December, spent his time working at the Jungle Liquor Store. He said he spent his free time going skiing, going to Chicago and traveling to Madison, Wis.

“I knew a lot of people who stayed in DeKalb, so it wasn’t very boring,” Ensweiler said.

Some students were able relax over break. NIU senior Dale Pietranczyk, a health education major, said he did what many other college students probably did—sit around and watch television.

He said, “You can only watch so much ESPN and college bowl games before the boredom kicks in.”

Members of the faculty also spent their vacation time in various ways.

NIU Journalism Professor Shirley Serini said she spent just ten days relaxing. “The other three weeks were spent on research and classroom preparation,” Serini said.

Whether the semester break was spent working, researching or vacationing, it was still almost a month off from the vigors of college.

“It was nice to have the time off, but it’s good to be back,” said Becker.