What about attending another UC as a visiting student if there are summer programs or other field/course opportunities. UCSC has the Coastal Science Campus.
My sons attend UCLA. One is doing research in a lab. The opportunity came about through one of his TAs. Likely right place, right time.
He found that staying on campus and taking a summer session was helpful. Fewer students on campus but still research going on.
As another poster suggested, he did learn how to use R which helped him.