As Winter Break approaches, students and faculty from all walks of life are looking forward to a much needed break, and in many cases, some fun holiday traditions.

As students it’s easy to forget that our faculty look forward to Winter Break too, and on that list is our President, Brian Noland. For Noland and his family, the month of December is chock-full of celebrations and traditions.

“My son’s birthday is in December and my birthday is on December 22, so it’s truly a month of celebration for our family,” Noland said.

But the Noland family won’t just be celebrating birthdays over the break.

“On Christmas Eve we’ll go to church and my wife will fix her traditional lamb,” Noland said.

Aside from President Noland, SGA President and ETSU senior Pooja Shah will spend her break catching up on some school work and trying to fit in some relaxation.

“I’m mostly planning on finishing up my research for my thesis as well as planning for SGA next semester, but I’m a big believer in balance so I will definitely be catching some Z’s and binge watching How to Get Away with Murder and Gilmore Girls,” Shah said.

SGA Representative and Honors-in-Discipline English major Keyana Miller plans to partake in several colorful traditions of her own as well as enjoying some travel with family.

“I’ll be heading to West Tennessee to spend Christmas with my mom’s side of the family and then going down to Mobile, Alabama to spend New Year’s with my dad’s,” Miller said.

She’s looking forward to Mobile’s unique holiday atmosphere.

“I love it because there are always huge parades in Mobile and I love the atmosphere,” Miller said.

But Winter Break won’t be all fun and games for Miller.

“After New Year’s I come right back to school for orientation leader training so I’ll still be getting ready for events going on with school over the break,” said Miller.

Whether your Winter Break plans include holiday traditions, time with family or travel make sure to enjoy some sleep and a mental break! Godspeed and Go Bucs, we’ll see you in January!