The Summer Before College

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Hi, </p>

<p>I am a graduating senior about to shove off to UCLA in fall, and I don’t want this summer to go to waste. For the past several years, I usually went on vacation with my parents, but I don’t plan on joining them this summer. I don’t want to have to say “Oh, I went there already.” when I go with friends or that potential someone in the future. I want travel to be a new experience. Might be a bit hard though as I’ve been to Thailand, France, Italy, London, Vatican, Beijing, Shanghai, most other cities in China, Germany, Sweden, Taiwan, Cancun, Ensenada, Canada, Hawaii, Alaska, and several other cities and countries.</p>

<p>Anyways, this summer I want to do something a bit more productive, such as finding an internship or perhaps part-time job in a business-related field. I am a fairly strong student, 2400 SAT, valedictorian with some participation in volunteering and school clubs and an internship and a bit of tutoring for money. </p>

<p>Apart from finding an internship and taking community college classes though, is there anything else that I could do with my time? Would any of the parents in this forum have any interesting suggestions (even stuff just for fun, not just academic or work-related) perhaps based on what their kids have done in the past for the summer before college? </p>

<p>Oh and any suggestions for hunting down jobs and types of jobs that might want a high school grad? What would you say the chances are of finding summer employment as a teller in a bank or perhaps some sort of internship? Am I aiming too low or too high in trying to hunt down a position as a banker teller or internship? </p>

<p>Thanks and Happy Mother’s Day!</p>

2

<p>I haven’t looked at anything else you’ve written other than this, so I don’t have a sense of who you are other than what you wrote. But what you wrote kind of split my head open in not a really good way. But I’m not going to reduce you to a cultural sterotype, as Woody Allen would say. So here’s my advice, for what it’s worth: this summer should be spent learning to be humble, and trying to figure out what really matters. And just chilling with your parents, whom I sense have brought you up well. This will probably be the last time, or one of the last times, that you will every spend quality time with them. If they want to spend a portion of the summer with you traveling, do so! But this time, rather than going places to shoot off a list of places you’ve been to, take a moment to kick back and relax. And talk to people you would not otherwise talk to. The rest of the summer, go up to UCLA if you live close to it, go to the hospital and ask to volunteer. If you like animals, try and join the canine therapy program or help the children in the cancer ward. </p>

<p>For the trip, if I were to pick a place for you to learn to just chill and open your mind, I would suggest the south of France. Take in a couple of Jazz festivals, even if you don’t like Jazz. It’s more about the people and the music and just enjoying life and learning to mesh. So when you are in your freshman year at UCLA and starting to feel competitive and constipated, you can close your eyes and remember how wonderful life can be and how so few people can ever hope to have the opportunities you have and have had.</p>

3

<p>I don’t like the focus on “internship” since many companies offer good positions that look good on a resume and give a lot of responsibility but aren’t strictly “internships.”</p>

<p>I worked as a bank teller summer after sophmore year in high school, I believe. I was young for the job, so it’s definitely fine. It got boring and tedious, but it was a pretty good job. If you’ve never had a job, it’s a good place to start because it teaches responsibility, money handling skills, learning a new computer program, customer service, etc. </p>

<p>Summer after senior year I worked a lot, probably 50+ hours a week on the average. I worked as Development Associate for a nonprofit and, with the Development Director, put on a large event very quickly. It gave me amazing experience. I was valued in the company, and I had a lot of responsibility. It was a job I kind of “fell into.” One of the best ways to get a good job is to just keep your eyes open, and jump on a chance when you see when. I also worked as a camp counselor, which is a fun job. It’s late in the year to find some summer jobs, but you can probably find a camp counselor position. I’m a long-time musician, so I played gigs every couple weeks, which is a nice way to make money–obviously that’s kind of a specialized job, but it’s nice if you can find a job to do every once in a while to make extra money. I also decided to take the opportunity to learn a new instrument, so I took piano lessons during the summer. That was perfect for me, but 3 months normally isn’t enough time to get a good grounding on an instrument if you won’t continue in college, especially if you don’t have music experience. Think about learning the guitar (which tends to be fastest to get a grasp of), how to knit, how to cook, how to do some computer programming, etc. </p>

<p>It depends on how busy you like being, as well. I really love working, so with work plus music practicing I was busy probably at least 75 hours a week. Add in time to hang out with friends, and it’s exhausting. I loved it. Many would rather have more time to relax outside. Think about this while making plans.</p>

<p>EDIT: I also agree with the above poster. There are a lot of places you haven’t been, and there is infinitely more you can experience in any of those states or countries. Maybe you do this already, but I get the feeling that you should learn to value your travels more, and value the areas you are in: don’t stay at resorts, spend time with locals, struggle to communicate, go into villages, shop in open markets, leave the tourist areas, and keep your eyes open. You have a lot to learn and a lot to experience. You can spend the summer reading, traveling with your parents, and having fun with your friends. Volunteer somewhere that makes you interact with the people you are helping directly.</p>

4

<p>Awww…surely you can have this productive summer, and have 2 weeks for a family vacation too? Spending time with your family is surely not a waste; you are going far away to school, and will only be seeing them once in every few months. Vacations are special times. There is quite an inexhaustable supply of places to visit relative to the time available in your life. Go with your college friends to Vancouver, Disney, Miami, Brazil, Morocco, the world.</p>

<p>My D who is a second year in college still looks forward to our family vacation every summer, besides working/interning for 9 weeks, and hanging out with friends. So, yes, you can find the right balance.</p>

<p>Teller position in a bank is quite easy to obtain, and while it is not challenging, you can learn valuable skills in any job. As well, your options could be quite limited at this time when many college kids are already home for the summer, and likely swooped up the plum jobs. No matter what employment you find, you will be a gopher, and that’s a fine place to start.</p>

<p>I know kids who have taught handicapped children swimming, horseback riding, worked retail, trained in a pharmacy, did doctor’s office scheduling, environmental center work, web design, paid and unpaid jobs, Habitat for humanity, etc. etc.</p>

5

<p>I thought our kids would stop joining us for vacations after they graduated from High School but it hasn’t happened and our daughter will be graduating college in a couple of weeks. Both kids work in the summer too, they just find jobs that allow them time off without pay. </p>

<p>I think it’s kind of a funny idea to not travel with the family because you’ve been to so many places already. Each time you go somewhere you will most likely have a different experience because you will be going with different people, you’re a different age, and there are things that you didn’t see the first time. My daughter went to Peru twice within a year because she felt that she didn’t really see it all. I can’t imagine turning down our upcoming trip to Hawaii because we went 8 years ago…</p>

<p>As far as the job search goes, look in the Sunday paper and see what’s out there. Look for seasonal or temporary jobs. My son worked for a temp agency last year and that was nice and flexible. Some Summer camps are still hiring if you like to work with kids. good luck!</p>

6

<p>

Excellent point. My family has been to Mexico five times, and it’s one of my favorite places. The first time we went I was 5, and the last time we went I was 17. Not only have I been able to see things differently as I’ve gotten older or as we’ve traveled to new areas, but I’ve also had the opportunity to see some of the same areas grow and change. I’ve been to many states and countries more than once, and I never even considered the fact that we had been there before could detract from our experience.</p>

7

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<p>Really, the very thought of a kid having trouble finding something to do with their time over the summer just blows my mind. </p>

<p>Uhhh – how about WORKING?!</p>

8

<p>First-Congratulations on getting into UCLA–that was no easy feat this year! A couple of ideas you may wish to consider: Outward Bound-a tough program! Or volunteering with a group of friends in New Orleans or Kansas.
Working/Internships will also help you as a person and give you the foundation you need to build a strong resume. Why not google some firms near your home-and contact their human resource dept. Good Luck!</p>

9

<p>I’d tell my D this is the perfect time she can actually do nothing (sort of), a time for reflection. This is the special time sandwich after 4 years of hard work in HS and potentially another 4 years of hard work in college.</p>

10

<p>Op’s been to most places - that is fashionable - places on the globe, and his chief worry is heaven forbids he has to go to France or Cancun again. Poster above is correct: spend quality time w your folks and siblings. Maybe help build that fence or gazebo in the back yard as a tribute than taking another class or intern, you have the next several years for that.</p>