With UMKC being a commuter campus, many students are spending up to 10 hours a day away from home. In a take on the “What’s In My Bag?” trend, students shared what they keep in their backpacks to survive a long day on campus.
Seiry Melendez, a freshman environmental science major, has a 25-minute drive to school and spends up to seven hours a day on campus. Melendez sports a SWISSGEAR backpack with tons of pockets which she keeps stocked with pens, pencils, highlighters and markers.
“It’s really important to have a backpack that fits lots of things,” said Melendez. “You can’t just go to your dorm to grab whatever you need, you have to have it in your backpack.”
Melendez also showcases a bit of her personality with the decor on her backpack. She decorates her bag with a plushie she was gifted by a friend, a pin of Chū-Totoro from “My Neighbor Totoro” and a keychain she got on a trip to Aspen, Colorado.
Luis Zuniga, a freshman urban planning & design major, has a 20-minute commute and spends up to eight hours a day on campus. In contrast to Melendez, Zuniga chooses to keep his bag more minimal, carrying only his laptop, headphones and chargers.
Zuniga says he prefers to carry less, as he does most of his work on his computer.
“It’s easy and lightweight,” he said.
Similarly, senior Arlin Carreon has chosen to start bringing a tote bag instead of a backpack to carry less. “I feel like if you have a backpack you put more unnecessary things in it, so that’s why I switched over to the bag,” said Carreon.
In her tote bag, Carreon keeps her iPad, laptop, chargers, makeup and name tags for her multiple on-campus jobs.
Marlon Perez-Morales, a sophomore studying business, drives 20 minutes to campus. Although he only spends five hours a day on campus, Perez-Morales has a part-time job outside of school which means he spends a total of 10 hours away from home.
Perez-Morales says the most important thing he keeps in his backpack is his water bottle. He recounted a time when he forgot it and said “it just sucks.”
Aside from his water bottle, Perez-Morales also keeps a map of Volker Campus in his backpack. “I mean, I know my way but you never know,” he said.
