People can even go on virtual tours in the comfort of their own homes. photo by Destiny Hernandez
When summer comes around, teenagers usually have more time to enjoy the day and relax, and sometimes, there’s nothing to do and some of these suggestions could help students decide what is best to do over the summer to help them with their future.
Having fun during the summer is a must, but planning for the future should also be part of what students think about during all that free time. There are many activities that high schoolers can do while passing time in the summer, and some of those opportunities are available directly from TJ and the programs that they offer. A few of these programs are offered by TJ’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Partnership Coordinator Danny Showers; he is responsible for many of the events that are available to students both during and after school. The most popular of TJ’s activities from the CTE coordinator are internships and community service opportunities. These internships are available for students only in the Center for Communication Technology Magnet (CCT) or Advanced Via Individual Determination (AVID) classes. Students are interviewed by certain businesses like NPW Contracting, if the student gets the internship, then they are able to learn things around the office. For example, they may learn how companies may take the safety of their workers very seriously. All in all, students work 120 hours and in the end, there is a celebration for all the hard work students have accomplished at their assigned internship.
Volunteering to help out around the community is also a great way to spend time in the summer, helping families and others around them. Great volunteering options can be found at the local library, children’s hospitals, or even the American Red Cross, which has an easy application process through their website. The community service hours that students acquire should be brought to Showers to incorporate them on the transcript to help boost the students’ extracurricular activities section.
Getting a job could also improve students’ resumes and may also help save money for college and other opportunities. There are so many benefits people receive when they have a job, like learning how to communicate well with people and customers. This helps create a work ethic that others may not have yet. Being able to choose a job during the summer is a chance to do more things independently than continuing to rely on parents to help.
Over the course of the summer, many people like to travel and bring their children to experience it with them. In this journey they are able to see new cultures from all around the world. Even if families just travel to another state, there are many differences between one’s home life and the way people in other states live. Taking a vacation could help make new connections with people and is a useful resource for when they are older. If they were to meet a person in a position of power, this could potentially help with getting a job or writing a letter of recommendation for future opportunities. It is important to establish connections with people to help in the future in case there is an occasion where it’s needed.
In many instances, students do not complete their entire school work during the year and have the option to go to summer school to help boost their grades before graduating. Summer school may seem unappealing in movies but it is only there to help students if they are falling behind and are in danger of not passing classes. There are so many benefits to taking summer school, as students are learning to become a better person and being able to take control of school work. In the end, when students graduate it will all be worth it. Along with summer school, there are summer camps where students can choose any type of camp to learn about topics they are interested in or just to socialize with people they have never met. Many parents choose to send their teenagers to a popular camp such as science camp. Here there are many opportunities to explore the world in a fun manner.
By far the most important thing to make sure is done in the summer is to visit colleges for tours to decide which option is best. Many people say that they choose their college and know it is the right option for them when they actually go experience it for themselves. Graduating Senior Bela Silva explains, “I realized the only way for me to really get a feel for the schools was to take tours of the campus. I definitely did not think I was going to like CSU Pueblo as much as I did, and in a way it reminded me of TJ, and I immediately could see myself attending.” In some cases, colleges offer a week program to actually stay at the dorms and shadow students to see if they would like how their schedule looks and give them an idea of how college really is. CU Boulder offers this program as a part of its CMCI studio to help students see the opportunities available at their school. It is very important to choose the right school, so there won’t be any problems later on or students who want to transfer schools. Although if the school isn’t a perfect fit, there is nothing wrong with simply switching schools in the middle of the school year, it might be difficult but it is all possible.
Due to COVID-19 most of these options have been postponed and any information is accessible by looking up the websites from the programs. There are still opportunities for the summer through virtual meetings and check-ins from colleges and universities and there are still virtual tours available to see and explore the campus. Make sure to keep an eye out for opportunities available through schools or program websites for essential information.
