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Diego de Jong

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Adventures
Cycling ▼
Academic Cycling Road Trips Mexico Chicago Vacations
Academic Cycling Road Trips Mexico Chicago Vacations

Academic

Throughout college, I've been fortunate enough to go an many adventures. Here are a few notable ones!
Photo of me and the group in philly Photo of me in my resume costume

SHPE National Convention 2025 in Philladelphia, PA
(October 29, 2025 - November 1, 2025)

While I was helping the computing club president set up for a student organization event, he randomly invited me to come with him to the 2025 SHPE National Convention. I didn’t see why not, so I said sure. We ended up going for a week-long trip to Philadelphia as a group of three (me, Marcos Sanson, and Jason Miranda). It was my first time going to any SHPE event, and it was an amazing first experience. I attended several presentations hosted by major companies such as Nvidia, Bank of America, Chevron, Lenovo, and more. I also attended the largest career fair I have ever seen, with booths bringing companies like Apple, Nintendo of America, and Southern Company. I made the most of it that I could, and had a little bit of fun too since the first career fair day landed on halloween (I dressed up as my resume). In the end I had a lot of fun, and learned a lot about the companies and how to boost my career.

Switzerland

Study Abroad at ZHAW (Switzerland)
(June 30, 2025 - July 25, 2025)

I’ve always lived with my family. There hasn’t been a time in my life where I was separated from them for more than a week, and now that I’m an adult, I wanted to leave for a while just to prove that I can. I’m a student commuter at Grand Valley State University too, which means I didn’t have the instant friendship that comes from living on campus together with others. It’s difficult making friends at today’s colleges. I’ve also always wanted to do a study abroad program just for the thrill of it, so to answer all of these feelings, I ended up signing up for the only faculty-led one that Grand Valley had to offer. It was mainly located in Winterthur, and was one of the best decisions I’ve made in college so far. I became friends with people on campus and from another nation, I got to fully experience another nation in their daily life, and I got to learn and create incredible things way cooler than I thought I was capable of doing at this point. I learned about machine learning, deep learning, data models, digital images, and accessability. and created a Pokemon Battle Assistant. I went to Ebenalp, Rhine Falls, Bern, Zurich, witnessed a graduation ceremony for ZHAW, and hiked to Schloss Kyburg, and so much more! It was worth every penny!

Photo of me and everyone in pittsburgh

GVSU Women's Basketball Pep-Band in Pittsburgh, PA
(October 29, 2025 - November 1, 2025)

After I graduated high school as the Trumpet section leader for Forest Hills Northern’s band programs, I wanted to continue playing trumpet in any way that I could. I didn’t have a lot of time, so I ended up taking on a smaller role in GVSU’s pep bands. I did both their Women’s Volley Pep Band and Basketball Pep Band programs for the entirety of the 2024-25 school year. Out of sheer luck, the women’s basketball team ended up going to nationals and winning the GLIAC national championship, and we got to go with them to Pittsburg and cheer them on! It was fun!

Cycling

Me, my dad, and my brother are all Dutch. Perhaps it's in our blood to cycle. Here are the major adventures that I've done on the bike.
Photo of me and dad after the 1st cycling trip

Grand Rapids to Mackinaw City
(August 4-12, 2018)

My dad has always been a cycler and adventurer. In his past, he's cycled around all of South America, and on a motorbike he traveled from the Netherlands to Australia. I guess he wanted to let me experience a taste of that same type of adventure, so at some point, we decided to cycle across all of Michigan together. We planned on heading to Mackinaw City, because then we could head to Mackinac Island and have a sort of victory lap around the island! In the end, this trip took five days, and we traveled around 240 miles total. I was 12 years old.

Photo of me and dad after the 2nd cyclng trip

Grand Rapids to Grand Traverse Lighthouse
(August 14-19, 2022)

After a few years, my brother became 14 and he and my dad both wanted to do a cycling trip together as well. My brother decided to set the destination as Great Wolf Lodge for fun, and they set off. I wanted to have fun too though, so in the end, my dad decided to make two trips, one with my brother to Traverse City, and one with me. I decided to set my destination as the Grand Traverse Lighthouse, because it was located at what could be looked at as the 'pinky' of Michigan. This way I could say that I cycled to the 'middle' and 'pinky' fingers of the state. In the end, this trip took four days, and we traveled around 180 miles. I was 16 years old.

Me at a Pewamo train memorial

Lowell to Pewamo
(July 24, 2022)

To do long distance cycling trips, some training and preparation is definitely required. To practice experiencing a day of cycling, my dad and I decided to cycle from Lowell county to Pewamo county. We took the Fred Meijer Grand River Valley Trail, and traveled about 50 miles. We also saw a cool museum about the trains that used to travel on the trail a long time ago!

Road Trips

Throughout the years, I've been on some really fun adventures by car. Here are a few of them.
Me and my family at the Milwaukee Art Museum

Chicago and Milwaukee
(July 31, 2025 - August 3, 2025)

When I got tickets to go to a J-Pop concert in Chicago, I originally intended to go with one of my best friends for only a day. My brother, however, wanted to go with me instead because he actually liked the singer, unlike my friend. I was okay with him coming along, but my friend was my ride to Chicago, so I had to find a way to get transport. Since the concert was on a Thursday evening, I ended up convincing my parents to take a four day weekend roadtrip. We ended up going to Milwaukee Wisconsin for the majority of the trip, and spent our time at a variety of museums including the Milwaukee Art Museum, National Bobblehead Museum, Volo Auto Museum and Jurassic Gardens, and the Harley-Davidson Museum. It was fun!

mall of america boot with friend

Mall of America
(May 22-24, 2024)

After graduating high school, me and two other friends decided to do a road trip together for fun. Since elementary school, there's been a place that's been nearly foreshadowed as a vacation spot that we would take, and that was the Mall of America. Since we were all somewhat introverted nerds, we joked that we postponed the stereotypical teenager-mall-hang-out to the end, and that we prioritized education first. I was put in charge of finding a place to stay, and found the only motel in the area that accepted payment and stay from 18 year olds. It was fun!

photo of me, my mom, and the Michigan Tech husky

Michigan Tech
(January 11-16, 2024)

Back when I was applying for colleges, Michigan Tech was one of the top contenders. Because of this, I applied for a few scholarships that they had. One of them was the 'Leading Scholar Award', where I had to write an essay that revolved around my leadership related experience. I ended up writing an essay about how I use internet memes to connect with people and make them laugh, and was a winner! My mom and I flew to Houghton, Michigan at first, for what was supposed to be a weekend event and tour at Michigan Tech. However, there was a terrible blizzard that kept us stuck in Houghton for an extra three days. In the end, my mom and I decided to rent a car and drive the eight hours from Houghton to Grand Rapids. It was very beautiful driving through the upper peninsula and Mackinaw Bridge in the winter!

Washington DC and Massanutten, Virginia
(August 15-25, 2018)

After I finished my first cycling trip to Mackinaw with my dad, my family went on vacation together. My parents had wanted to travel to Washington DC for some time, since they're foreigners and wanted to see the capital. They also found several interesting things to do in Virginia, like Massanutten Resort, Luray Caverns, and Monticello. In the end, we had a road trip traveling to each of these locations. It was fun!

Mexico

My mom is mexican, and we have a great relationship with our family there. Because of this, we often visit them and have vacations there together. Here are a few of them.

Winter 2024-2025
(December 21, 2024 - January 4, 2025)

We spent the winter hanging out with our family, catching up and having fun together. We partied a lot for Christmas and the new year! Some notable attractions we went to were the Zocalo, Chapultepec Zoo, Mystica, and the only Michelin Star taco stand in Mexico! It was fun!

Spring 2022
(March 26, 2022 - April 11, 2022)

We spent spring break in Mexico hanging out with our family. Some notable attractions that we saw were king Tut's tomb and a professional luche libre fight. We also celebrated my dad's and cousin's birthdays. It was fun!

Image of me 'stepping' on the chichenitza temple

Mexico and Cancun
(July 2-11, 2021)

Over the summer, my parents decided to have the family take a vacation to Cancun. We first flew to Mexico City where our family lives to say hi, and then we went to our resort in Cancun. Over the course of our vacation, we went to several different attractions like Xcaret, Xenses, and Chichen Itza. It was fun!

fam foto in cabo at the dragon rock

Mexico and Los Cabos
(March 29, 2019 - April 8, 2019)

This was the third time we traveled to Los Cabos, specifically Cabo San Lucas. It is a very beautiful location, and a great place to relax, have fun, and swim! This time specifically, we went on a pirate ship attraction. It was fun!

Chicago

Chicago is about three hours away from Grand Rapids by car, and is home to the O'Hare International Airport. Alongside it being a really big and touristic city, I end up traveling there somewhat often. Here are some of the highlights.

Summer 2025
(June 20-22, 2025)

For my Mom's birthday, she decided to celebrate by having the family go to Chicago for a weekend. We went to the Bean, the Medieval Torture Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Ice Cream, WNDR Museum, Shedd aquarium, and Chinatown. It was fun!

Summer 2021
(July 25-27, 2021)

We spent a weekend in Chicago for fun. We went to the Van Gogh Museum, and the Museum of Illusions. It was fun!

Summer 2019
(June 21-23, 2019)

My mom really wanted to see Hugh Jackman live, so we all got tickets to go see him perform in Chicago. We spent the rest of the weekend having fun around the city too, going to the Zoo, Navy Pier, and China Town. It was fun!

Jazz Band 2024
(Febuary 3-4, 2024)

My third and final time participating at the New Trier Jazz Festival. We went to the Chicago Science Museum on the second day of our trip. It was fun!

Jazz Band 2023
(Febuary 4-5, 2023)

My second time participating at the New Trier Jazz Festival. We went to the Shed Aquarium on the second day of our trip. It was fun!

Jazz Band 2022
(Febuary, 2022)

The Forest Hills Northern Jazz Band participates at the New Trier Highschool Jazz Fest annually. This was my first time participating, and the first festival after the covid pandemic. It was fun!

Vacations

My parents have always held a very high value for traveling. They must've had the dream to travel and see the world. Whatever the case, we travel relatively frequently for vacations. Here are some of them.
Family photo in Tokyo

Cape Canaveral and Daytona Beach, Florida
(December 20, 2025 - January 3, 2026)

My family and I went to Florida, specifically to Cape Canaveral and Daytona beach! We got to go see the Kennedy Space Center, a few smaller historical museums, a lot of parks, and relax! We also got to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve at the beach! It was fun!

Family photo in Tokyo

Japan
(July 7-26, 2024)

My family had been planning on traveling to Japan for years before we finally went. My mom wanted to go back in 2020, but then the pandemic happened, and we put the plan on the sideline for a while. After I graduated high school, I put the idea up in the air again, and we all agreed that it was the perfect time to go. I had just graduated, so it was like a reward for me. I had also been learning Japanese in my free time as a hobby, so I was trained enough to help out if needed. Additionally, the economy at the time had a good dollar to yen conversion rate. We traveled to all different types of temples, museums, theme parks, restaurants, and parks. Our vacation was split between two main locations, Tokyo and Osaka, though we also visited Yokohama and Kyoto. I designed and scheduled the entire itinerary, and my family agreed that it was the one of the best vacations that we had ever had!

Family photo in front of ancient ruins

Mediterranean Cruise
(July 7-22, 2023)

My family had considered taking a cruise for years, and we finally decided to take one around the Mediterranean area. The cruise we took traveled from Italy to Greece, Turkey and back. Notable places we visited were Venice, and Mykonos. I believe Mykonos in particular was the most beautiful place that I had ever seen. It was fun!

Me indoor skydiving in Florida

Miami, Florida
(April 2-11, 2021)

Me, my dad, and my brother are all Dutch citizens, so we all have Dutch passports. At some point, me and my brother's passports expired, and unfortunately our closest renewer had closed. Since the next closest one was in Miami, we decided to make the trip worthwhile and turned it into a vacation! Some notable places we went to were the Miami Zoo and the beach. We also did indoor skydiving for the first time. It was fun!