As the spring semester comes to a close, students are finding ways to keep themselves motivated to finish the semester strong.

Junior Natalie Rosborough said that the spring semester was harder than the fall semester for her because of the weather.

“I personally feel like I had more motivation in the fall semester because the weather was nicer for most of the semester; I would study outside.”

She said since the spring semester has been cold and snowy, it has been harder for her to stay motivated.

“When the weather is nicer, I’m in a better study mood.”

Without warm weather present, Rosborough said that knowing summer is coming soon is how she’s been staying motivated, and she even keeps a countdown to track how many days are left in the semester.

“Each time I check a day off, I get to see how close I am to the end.”

She said she also looks at her grades and the short amount of time left in the semester to help push her to raise her grades and earn a better GPA.

Sophomore Tim Meyers said that knowing the end of the semester is near is what has been keeping him motivated.

He said that out of the fall and spring semester, he has been more motivated this semester to finish.

Since winter break was short, he said, it seemed like another spring break to him.

“Summer, on the other hand, is quite a significant break.”

He said that overcoming the increased workload toward the end of the semester is more of an internal battle for him, but knowing that summer is nearing pushes him to keep working.

“The fact that I’m working toward four months of break, as opposed to two weeks, seems to drive me to work harder,” he said.

He said that he looks at summer break as a reward for pushing himself to finish the semester on a strong note.

Sophomore Morgan Shumaker said that she felt motivated during most of fall and spring semester, but that she always tends to lose that drive toward the end.

“For different reasons, I feel like I lose motivation throughout the semester – from the beginning to the end,” Shumaker said.

“With the classes I’m in, I expect a certain grade; I definitely want to get good grades in these classes.”

Shumaker said that it’s important to not slack off at the end of the semester because that’s when the projects and papers worth the most points are due.

“They (projects and papers) are weighted more, so it’s like you have to be motivated, and you can’t slack off because if you do at the end, that’s when your biggest projects are, and your grades are going to fall,” she said.

According to Shumaker, remaining positive is also a helpful way to continue to work hard during the hectic time at the semester’s end.