Spirits are high on the VTSU Castleton campus as temperatures reach into the 60s. Students are now walking to class in shorts and t-shirts and Max the cat has been spotted sunbathing outside of Leavenworth Hall.

“Oh happy Spring,” a professor said while whistling out of the Fine Arts Center as the sun lit up his face, and the fresh air blew through his hair.  

The spring season officially started March 20, signaling the end of VTSU students and faculty’s hibernation. 

“I love the change in temperature. It makes me feel like I am waking up from a winter hibernation!” Director of the Fine Arts Center Marisa Valent-Altland exclaimed. 

With the weather getting warmer, spring hobbies are starting up and for some that means gardening 

“My favorite hobby has to be planning my garden,” business professor Jody Condon said. “My garden journal goes back to 2014, which means I’ve kept this tradition for 11 years!”

Natural science professor Helen Mango also has a green thumb herself, and has been gardening for decades. She said she is looking forward to seeing new plants emerge.

As much as the people love this spring season, don’t forget about the furry friends that look forward to the sun as well.

English professor Candy Fox, looking out the window in one of her classes the other day, spotted Max laying in a beam of sun. When returning to her class she shared her first sighting of Max this semester, and stated, “He must be out of hibernation.” 

Valent-Altland’s furry friends at home thrive during the spring season as well. 

“I start opening my windows in the spring and I love watching my cats sit in the windows and smell the fresh air,” she said. 

Spring is a highlight for the athletes on campus too, as it allows them to finally have practice outside. 

“I just really appreciate the weather change. I’m so happy field hockey practice is finally outside!” Madison Gile said. 

Mango, asked to describe spring in one-word, was quick with a response.  

 “Bright! Having more hours of daylight is so energizing!” she said.

Valent-Altland likes to decorate her house for every season, and spring just happens to be her favorite because of all the flower decor she has. 

“It makes my house feel like a garden,” she said. “I also have a little gnome that has a lemonade patterned hat and a sign in his hands that I put up every year.” 

For some, this time of year holds personal traditions, and for VTSU student Ella Myles, that includes a family trip to a nearby lake.

”I live near a lake and every spring, break me and my family go down to look at the ice and see how much is melted, even sometimes seeing if we can brave jumping in! I think it really became a tradition since I began college, although it was something I have always done,” Myles said.

And even with the mud some have to endure, spring is seen by most as a delightful time of year.

”I love the smell of dirt and how warm everything is when mud season begins. I love getting to watch the snow melt in little streams,” Myles said.

As the air makes everything feel more alive and the desire from people to actually go outside and enjoy nature increases, the spring energy blasts through every inch of campus.