Six Ways a Student Can Get the Most Out of Their Summer Break

It's summer vacation for college students and Centennial has some recommendations for how to spend your time.

It’s summer at Centennial College, and while some students are taking summer semester courses, others are off until September. If you have a summer break, you’re probably looking forward to relaxing, but be warned: There are more things that need doing during the summer than simply chilling. You’re at college to develop your career, and the summer is the perfect time to keep the momentum going. The good news is that you’ll still have time to have fun. Here’s what else you can be doing:

1. Take a moment to regroup

During the crunch at the end of a semester, when you have to turn in your final projects and exams, your life may get a bit chaotic. Sometimes it takes the form of a messy living space full of papers and laundry, other times it involves you cleaning yourself up. Now that school’s out, you can put it all back together again, deal with the mess, and make yourself as fresh as possible. You really only need one good weekend of cleaning to get your living space in order again. Buying some new clothes and getting healthy, be it through the gym (by the way, you’ll still have access to Centennial College’s gym) or eating better, can be fun and leave you feeling like a new person. Take some time to renew yourself, and you’ll be ready for when you return in September.

2. Look how things are going, to find out where you’re going

If you’re taking a Business, Journalism, or Project Management program, you might have heard about something called a “post-mortem.” Basically, once a big project is finished, you can hold a meeting where the team that worked on it figures out what worked, what didn’t, and what they can learn for next time. If you’re taking a break from school, it’s the perfect time for you to do a post-mortem on how your last semester went. Be honest and take a look at your schoolwork and your life. What worked and what didn’t? What do you wish you’d done differently? Now’s the time to look back and make a plan for next year, maybe making use of our Academic Advising if you need extra help. While we’re on that subject…

3. Get some cash and experience

This is a tough one to accept, but it’s a good career strategy and financial move. A summer job in Toronto is a chance to put some extra money in your pocket while you have the time. Even if you don’t have debts to pay, at the very least, having spare cash for next year is a good idea. If you haven’t already looked into some summer work, now’s the perfect time to arrange something for June to August, and you can even search through the college with HireCentennial. Aside from the money, summer employment will give you job skills, business experience and something to put on your resume. You’ll learn life lessons by giving you some relevant work experience. Speaking of that…

4. Research where you’d like to work and make a resumé

School will end eventually, and you’ll want a career when it’s over. It’s a bit early to send out resumés, but it’s the perfect time to look at the career you want and do some research. What skills are you going to need? What’s an average workday like? Doing research now means that when you go back in September, you’ll know what to pay attention to in school. This also comes in handy while you build a resumé. Even if you already have one for part-time work, a proper professional resumé is something else, and summer is a good time to put one together. That way, when September rolls around, you can show it to the experts at the Centennial College Career Centre. Having a hard time figuring out what to write about? Our Career Services department can help with that.

5. Get all your dates in order for next year

Believe me, summer will fly by. There’s a lot you need to remember for September, like when you need to register for next year’s classes (Here’s Centennial College’s schedule of important dates) and what you have to do. If you have courses you have to pick, figure out which ones you’re going to take. If you do it all now and write it down, you won’t have to worry about it at the end of August, and won’t be scrambling the day before classes begin.

6. Go ahead and take some time off, though

Stress-busting is important for both your mind and body, which is why you need a bit of time when you can stop worrying. Whether it’s a good book, tv show, video game or any summer activities you like to do, such as swimming, go ahead and experience a bit of guilt-free leisure time. You’ll appreciate the vacation time off before hitting class again, and remember, it will rejuvenate your mind and body.