There’s at least one group of students not enjoying the extra days of winter break – college students.
The snow storm created havoc on the roads and airports making it difficult, if not impossible, for thousands of students to get to campuses in Georgia or leave the state to return to college elsewhere.
John Freyermuth, a junior at Emory University, has been marooned at Washington Dulles International Airport since Monday. Freyermuth has friends and classmates stranded all over the country.
"My classes are supposed to start Wednesday and I’m just hoping that they close the college again because there is no way I’m making it back in time," he said as airport announcements buzzed in the background. "I’m tired and I’m irritated. To be honest, missing classes is the least of my worries. I just need to get on a plane."
Colleges across Georgia and the South canceled classes and shut down campuses this week because of the snow storm. Closures are expected to continue Wednesday and students should check with their campus for more information, officials said.
Terry Ingram, academic services coordinator for Emory’s math and computer science department, said about 25 of her more than 60 graduate students are struggling to return to campus. Students are stranded as far away as Britain, she said. Their classes are scheduled to begin Thursday.
Flora Theden was planning to return to University of Tennessee in Knoxville Monday, but is still with her family in Vinings.
Her classes were scheduled to begin Wednesday. She's e-mailed professors to explain her situation, but worries whether she'll be able to add a class that is currently full. In those situations, students typically show up the first day of classes and ask the professor if they can enroll.
The delay also pushed back Theden's start date for an internship. She has paperwork she must complete before she can start the job and she had planned on taking care of that this week.
"It might seem like fun sitting at home but it's really annoying," the college senior said. "It's my last semester and I have stuff I need to be doing."
The time off hasn’t been a complete waste.
Erika Scholz will graduate from Louisiana State University in May and decided to work on her resume while snowed in with her family in Buckhead. She tried to schedule some job interviews with companies in Atlanta but no one is around to take her calls.
"I probably should just enjoy this time and take it easy because I won’t have much downtime when the semester starts," she said.
Some students wonder what will happen when they finally get to the right state.
Zack Dunda, a senior at Georgia Tech, was supposed to fly back to Atlanta Sunday night but is still in Texas. He’s now hoping to board a flight Wednesday morning.
"I just hope that once I get there, I can get back to campus safely," he said.
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