The Light Rail after 6 Months

It has been 6 months since the light rail opened and it is as busy as ever. An article in the Arizona Republic reviewed the Metro light rail system and had many positive things to say about the system. Ridership rose each month and of the 27 accidents Metro has been involved with, damage was mild and also Metro was not at fault.

After reading this article I began to remember conversations I had last semester with many of my peers commuting on the light rail and hearing their opinion on the whole operation. Many of the Downtown students use the light rail to commute back and forth instead of paying for parking or driving. Reflecting back on those conversations I realized that many of the student opinions I encountered were not always that positive. Many students disliked being crammed into train with a ton of people due to a baseball or basketball game. Some students also felt uncomfortable with the occasional encounter with a “sketchy” rider. I also remember many students complaining when the train was late due to an accident and because the train was late, they were late for their class. Now I realize that nothing is perfect but after reading the article in the Arizona Republic I found that the positives outweigh the negatives.

One awesome benefit of the Metro light rail is the money saved on gas and parking. As ASU students we all know how expensive a parking permit can be and if I can find a way to say a couple hundred bucks I’ll take it! Also rush hour traffic can be a pain to deal with especially if you’re driving back and forth from Tempe to Phoenix. The light rail avoids all that I-10 traffic and gets you from point A to point B without sitting bumper to bumper. By riding the light rail we also pollute less! We don’t use our cars with means less pollutants in the air. One other benefit of riding the Metro is meeting people. Yes it can be a little crowded at times, but I have met many interesting people and students while riding the train.

I have to say that the light rail is great for us students. It looks like the Metro light rail is here to stay and hopefully the longer it runs the better it will get! Any comments or concerns about the light rail feel free to let me know! Have an Awesome Day!!!!

Lonni Summers

Pictures from My Trip to the Philippines!

My Trip to the Philippines

On June 11th I returned from a three week trip to the Philippines and it was amazing. This was my very first international trip and I know it won’t be my last. Starting with week one, my sister, my mom, and I started our adventure in Manila. It is a very busy city with so much do! There are a ton of hotels, clubs, shopping areas, movie theaters, and other activities as well. We checked into the Renaissance Hotel in Makati, and then headed towards the newly built Greenbelt Mall. There we met up with a family friend and explored the very stylish mall. We grabbed lunch at a Japanese restaurant called John and Yoko, and the food was pretty good and had a great 60’s theme. After lunch we showered and got ready for a night on the town! We ate at a Thai restaurant called Thai Silk and the food there was delicious. It was literally the best pad thai I have ever tasted in my life! After dinner we went to a see a live show at place called Club Mwah. The performers were wonderful and really knew how to put on a show! The next day we took a trip up to Tagaytay and saw the Taal Volcano. We also went to this really cool restaurant called Sonya’s Garden. The setting of this restaurant is absolutely breathtaking and the food is just crazy good. The owner, Sonya, makes fresh salads, breads, pasta, and desert. By the end of the meal I was completely stuffed!

After three days in Manila we checked out of our hotel and headed towards the provinces! Our first stop was Pangasinan, just about five hours north of Manila. There we visited with family, went to the beach, and just enjoyed ourselves. After about two days in Pangasinan, we took a six hour bus ride back down to Manila and stayed there for just one day. We bought local plane tickets and then headed to the next province which was Baybay, Leyte. We stayed with family and had the time of our lives. Some of the activities we did were going down to the beach, tricycle rides, visited with family, and ate like crazy! One downer to my trip was I caught a slight cold while I was there. That was not all that fun, but I dealt with it and enjoyed myself even though I was fighting a cold! My family made some really amazing Filipino food and even though they didn’t have much, they we very giving and always tried to give us the best while we stayed with them.

After about a week in half, we left Baybay, Leyte and headed back to Manila. We took a 24 hour bus ride which was a little rough, but we got through it. For the last part of our trip it rained but it wasn’t too bad. The humidity was killer! Unlike here in Arizona, the humidity there can be a little hard to handle. On our last few days in the Philippines we just relaxed and hung out family. We stayed in Manila for about 5 days then it was time to head back home to Arizona.

Being in the Philippines was a fantastic experience for me. I had an awesome time on that island. The Filipino people are so hospitable and friendly. It was so great getting to meet and visit my family and I cannot wait to go back! I will soon be posting a few photos of my trip for everyone to see! Till then, Have an Incredible Day!


Lonni Summers

About Me!

Hello! My name is Appolonnia Trisha Summers. For short, everyone just calls me Lonni. I am a new addition to StARs and I thought I would share a little about myself. I was born and raised here in Arizona and every since I was five years old I’ve known I wanted to come to ASU. I am currently a sophomore at ASU in the College of Public Program at the Downtown Phoenix Campus. My major is Tourism Development and Management and I have very much enjoy the courses within my major and I love learning as much as I possibly can about tourism and all the different aspects involved in the field. Right now I am very interested in Hotel and Resort management and I hope in the future my career will be in that field.

Along with being a full time student I am also involved in a student organization called Camp Sparky. We mentor 5th graders and talk to them about the importance of their education and how they should continue their education through college. We also discuss the benefits of a college education and how they can pay for school. At the end of the year we have Big Camp, where we take a group of fifth graders camping for three days and learn, be around nature, and just have a ton of fun!

Over the summer I work at Big Surf Waterpark as a Lifeguard Instructor/Supervisor. I teach people how to be a lifeguard and also make sure that current lifeguards at Big Surf keep up on their skills. This will be my third season there and I love it. I like the interaction I get with my lifeguards and I also enjoy meeting and talking with the different customers that come through our park. Plus, who wouldn’t want to work at a waterpark? It’s a blast!

I love being around my family and friends and without them I don’t know where I would be! I also enjoy reading, hiking, dancing, traveling, and spending time with the people I love. I just recently returned from my trip in the Philippines and it was AMAZING! I was there for three weeks and did so much while I was there. I will soon have another blog up with a full detail description of my trip and photos as well.

I hope you got to know a little bit about me will and keep an eye out for more blogs from me about being a student at Arizona State University and the wonderful world of tourism!