Allison Pell, left, and Diane Royal, both 19, enjoy cups of specialty coffee at House of Coffees on Tuesday morning in Lodi. Pell, a student at California Polytechnic State University, and Royal, a student at the University of San Francisco, talk about what Lodi is like for them after returning to visit from college. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

Students back from break give thoughts on Lodi

Friends Allison Pell and Diane Royal, both 19, take sips of afternoon caffeine concoctions on Monday at the House of Coffees.

Until they graduated in 2006, the coffee house was a frequent morning stop for the two women on their way to Lodi High School. These days, though, Pell and Royal have to reserve trips to their favorite coffee hangout for when they're both back in town from their respective colleges.

Pell, an architecture major, sports a sweatshirt she picked up at her home away from Lodi, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Royal is returning to Lodi from the University of San Francisco.

Like Pell and Royal, as former Lodi highschoolers trickled into town for winter break to enjoy a rest from studying, catch up on their laundry and visit with family, they also got a chance to reflect on Lodi, the small town they left not so long ago.

"I think Lodi is a great place to grow up in," said Royal, an international studies major.

Throughout her childhood, Royal said, she enjoyed knowing everybody and feeling safe in her community.

However, after living for a year in Germany and then starting college in San Francisco, Royal says her world perspective has certainly changed.

"Lodi seems small," she said.

Pell agrees. A little more than a year of living with friends and enjoying life near the beach has led her to believe that there's more to life outside of Lodi.

"I'm not too fond of Lodi anymore," Pell said.

Since leaving Lodi, Royal said, she's been exposed to different points of view, which has made her a more accepting person.

However, going away hasn't been all fun and games. Both Pell and Royal agree that they're starting to be more aware of how they spend their money.

Neither Pell nor Royal tried to get temporary jobs on their winter break, preferring to spend their time with family and friends, but they admit that the extra cash would've been nice.

"It's not that we don't need the money," Royal said.

When asked whether or not they'll return to Lodi to live after they graduate from college, both women simultaneously shook their heads.

"You can never say never, but it's definitely, definitely, definitely not in my plans," Royal said. "There are so many different places in the world to live."

To Nick Powaser, a member of Lodi High's class of 2007 and a freshman at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, not much has changed.

The people he knew from high school who stayed in town still run with the same crowd. And teenagers still hang out in front of the Downtown movie theater and at the In-N-Out.

However, Powaser, a computer engineering major, doesn't fault his peers for staying in their niches. Since there isn't an In-N-Out in San Luis Obispo, Powaser satisfied his months-long craving by stopping by the popular burger joint during his winter break.

"That was the first thing I did," he laughed.

What's different for Powaser is not knowing the day-to-day happenings of his hometown.

"You're out of the loop," said Powaser.

Also different for Powaser is his sense of where home is. Although he spends most of his time nowadays in San Luis Obispo, Lodi still feels like his home.

However, he said he's glad he left the place where he grew up to go explore the world outside of Lodi. Staying at home and going to community college for two years might have been cheaper, he admitted, but he's more than made up for the extra cost in the life experience he's gained.

"You don't learn half the things you learn when you're out there blazing your own trail," he said.

Powaser said he's not opposed to returning to Lodi after he graduates from college, saying he'll probably live wherever he can get a job.

Briana Niemann, 20, said she's amazed how much Lodi has grown since she left town a little more than two years ago to study dental hygiene at La Sierra University in Riverside.

A Lodi Academy graduate, Niemann said she likes Lodi's small-town feel, but she's glad that it is growing, too.

In Riverside, Niemann said, she finds much more to do with her free time. She also likes that she doesn't have to leave town to find the things she needs.

"We lack a mall in Lodi," Niemann said.

Niemann said she'd probably live near Lodi after going to school, but it all depends on where she gets a job.

"I love Lodi. It's a quaint town," she said.

Contact reporter Amanda Dyer at amandad@lodinews.com.