8 Productive Ways to Spend Your Summer

June 7 2011, 10:18am

Today’s guest post is from Lauren Gray. Lauren is a Senior Public Relations student at Western Carolina University minoring in marketing and leadership. She currently serves as the SGA Director of PR and Marketing and as the PRSSA National Vice President of Public Relations. She is very active online through Twitter @laurenkgray and her blog at laurenkgray.com and very active in her three internships. Summer is here! It’s time to relax, lay by the pool and hang out with friends. Summer time is definitely break time from classes, homework, tests and more. But, as you continue through your college career, summer is a great time to advance your skills and take advantage of new opportunities. Here are eight productive ways to spend your summer: Improve your skills or gain a new skill In public relations, design work is important, but often overlooked. This summer, I’m trying to work on my design skills by working with Adobe InDesign and other products more. I also started a cooking challenge with one of my friends so we can better our cooking skills and try new foods. In the summer, we have a lot of time to improve skills we already have so we can prepare for the upcoming year and for our future. Challenge yourself this summer to take on a new skill or join a friend a make some sort of competition out of it. Get an internship While it may be late in the game to apply for internships at the beginning of June, some companies are still looking. Even if some companies say they are not looking for internships, don’t be afraid to volunteer your services. An internship is a great way to gain additional knowledge and insight into your future career and also a great way to build your resume and portfolio and gain industry contacts. Get a job We all need money over the summer for shopping, traveling and theme parks we want to visit. If you acquire an unpaid internship, it’s okay to get a side job to help you with some cash. Apply everywhere! Pick up the phone, yes pick up the phone, and start calling to ask about available positions. Internet searches and emails are good, but actually picking up the phone and getting answers is going to be the most beneficial to you. If you get a job, don’t be afraid to ask for responsibilities inside your major to help you gain additional skills. Travel I know traveling is probably a part of your summer anyways, but why not go somewhere new and experience something new? Grab a couple of friends and go to a new state to learn a few things. It’s a great way to have some fun, spend time with your friends and learn more about other states and their local culture. Volunteer Many non-profits are fun places to work and they are always looking for additional help. On a personal level, one of my goals this summer is to volunteer with at least three new places. Look around for a local soup kitchen, hospital, animal shelter, thrift store and more. It can be so much fun to volunteer at different places. Some of the best times I’ve had were cleaning houses after Hurricane Katrina with my friends. It definitely strengthened our friendships and gave us memories we still talk about. Organize all your stuff When we come home from college, think about how much stuff we have! I know my stuff accumulates throughout the year and I have a lot of junk I do not need. During the summer, go through all of your things before you drag unnecessary furniture and other items back to college that will take up room. You can even donate some of your things to your local shelter or thrift store and maybe even get some cash for some of your items. Job shadow If you are unable to get a job or get an internship this summer, it’s okay to call local places and businesses to see if you could job shadow for a day. Ask them if you can shadow a person whose responsibilities are similar to those you would want to do in your future career. It’s only for a day, but if you take notes and pay attention, you can really learn a lot in one day. You can also do this at several different places and even drop in somewhere when you are traveling. Build your network I can’t emphasize networking enough. We all know the phrase, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” While we all need experience, skills and knowledge, who you know can help you land an interview, get an internship, allow you to travel, allow you to shadow for a day and even more.  I reach out to people I’ve met and networked with online every day and they are some of my closest friends and people I turn to first when I have questions and issues. Get into Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogging, YouTube, Facebook and more and start meeting people and actually engaging in conversation. Hopefully these were helpful tips for you to start spending your summer in productive ways! But make sure to remember one thing, HAVE FUN!! I hope you have a great and fulfilling summer and I hope you continue to learn and improve yourself through your college journey.