Today, I just realized that I’ve never had a summer “off” ever since I was 14! Throughout my teenage and young adult years, I was either volunteering, working, taking summer classes, or all of the above. Looking back, these experiences taught me a lot about myself, developed my skills, and earned me money to feed my sushi and bubble tea addiction 🤑

Whether you’re a high school/university student or working adult, here are some ways you can make the most out of your summers so that you can stay productive and make good progress in your schooling and career.

Volunteer to meet new people and build skills and exposure 💡

In the summer before I started high school, I did a lot of volunteering! On the weekdays (40 hours a week), I was a Summer Camps Volunteer at a local community and recreation centre. On the weekends, I was a Guest Services Host at the local science centre; on long weekends, I volunteered for local events and charities.

What I loved most about volunteering was meeting new people and gaining new experiences for my resume. Not to brag (ok maybe a little bit), but I had a pretty solid resume even before I started high school! From the early days, I developed my skills in leadership, teamwork, communications, and public speaking.

Idea: Consider finding a local non-profit or food bank that you and your family or friends can volunteer for! If you’re more professionally inclined, become a mentor (check out Microsoft for Startups).

Work to make money and gain experience 💼

My time as a Summer Camps Volunteer gave me hundreds of hours of hands-on experience dealing with the craziness of kids. By the next summer, I officially got my first job as a Summer Camps Instructor where I planned fun activities and discovered my passion for working with youth! I also learned that if I can deal with kids, I can deal with anyone at work.

In my case, starting as a volunteer paved the way for me to get a job that paid way above minimum wage. After the summertime, I continued earning money by running day camps during the long weekends and becoming a Play Ambassador (where I actually got paid to play and run activities with random kids who dropped by 🙌).

I continued working as a Summer Camps Instructor for 3 years until I got into the Co-op (internship) program at my University and found my first corporate job at an Oil & Gas company during the recession. Although Camp Instructor and IT Administrator weren’t exactly similar jobs, I developed transferrable skills and experiences that made me a valuable candidate.

Fun Fact: When I asked my hiring manager why I was chosen among many other candidates, I was told it was because of my resume 🤓

Take classes to get ahead 📚

Now I know that I previously mentioned that you shouldn’t rush to graduate, but sometimes you just want to get certain classes out of the way because you’ve heard horror stories about awful professors or curriculums. Other times, it’s just nice to take classes in advance so that you can free up time in your Fall or Winter semesters to join extracurriculars or work a part-time job.

For me, I liked taking classes in the spring or summer so that I could free up my academic load during the next school year (especially when I knew I was taking a really hard course). This allowed me to master my time management as a student and maintain straight A’s while staying on top of my social life, relationships, jobs, and extracurriculars.

Tip: Talk to older students or classmates to figure out which classes you may want to take in the spring or summer. Usually, you want to get a really great prof or avoid a really bad one 🥸.

Go abroad and learn about new cultures 🌎

Sure, vacations are nice… but international exchanges are way better IMO! Taking the time to fully immerse yourself in a new country and culture is such a unique (and challenging) experience that allows you to learn a lot about yourself.

In 2017, I went on a 3-week group study to Japan which was my first taste of Asia… and I fell in love. I had a lot of fun learning how to live away from home, seeing what it was like to be a part of a completely different society, and eating lots of delicious sushi and ramen. This experience helped me realize that I needed to go on a longer exchange program before I graduated. Fast forward to 2019, I spent my final semester in Singapore and can 100% confirm that it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made! Plus, it also gave me the opportunity to travel to Bali, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Tokyo, and Taipei ✈️

Stretch and challenge yourself 🌱

The pandemic has stopped us from doing a lot of things in our lives, but some of us may be using it as an excuse for not taking action. Take the time to reflect on all the “missed opportunities” that might’ve taken place in the past couple of years and see if you can find similar or new opportunities to tackle now!

Ideas: Try doing a 100 Day Challenge, starting a side-hustle, or writing that book you’ve always wanted to write! Whatever it is, look for something that will give you energy, exposure, or experience.

Start thinking about what you want to accomplish 👀

Although it is technically spring, I wanted to share this blog post now to give you a head start… This way, you can start thinking about what you want to do when the summertime actually comes around the corner. Plus, a lot of students are done their school year around this time—so this is for all y’all who may feel lost and don’t know what to do! Good luck ☺️

Karen’s personal philosophy is “growing 1% everyday through finding inspiration to share with the world”.

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