As seniors spend their final days at Lincoln, many other students may be wondering what they can do to prepare for the next step in their academic career. Colleges look for a variety of things in addition to grade point average, including clubs, jobs and other extracurriculars like sports. As summer rapidly approaches, opportunities are plentiful.

College coordinator Aliera Zeledon Morasch stressed the importance of using the summer to broaden your horizons. 

 “That could be like volunteering somewhere. If there’s an internship, you know, just depending on age, sometimes there’s some opportunities where you have to be older, but like anything, there’s like an organization that you’re interested in, and you just want to get involved in things like that to help you as a person just kind of figure out what’s important to you,” she said. 

Some students have the misconception that colleges only look for internships in their college applications, but paid jobs also carry merit. 

“Any type of involvement is good,” said career coordinator Shannan Fasold. “Whether that be volunteering, or participating in a high school camp.” 

For students who worry they are unable to get a paid job because of a family vacation mid summer, Fasold points out they can get other kinds of jobs such as babysitting, pet sitting or dog walking, as these jobs can be done on the students’ schedule. 

For rising juniors, the summer college agenda includes much more. As Morasch mentioned, in addition to boosting their resumes, juniors should be looking at what they want out of the college experience. Location, size, learning style, and majors are all important factors in researching colleges, as well as touring campuses. 

“One good thing to do is if you can visit any campuses, either in your area, or if you’re able to travel and visit, that’s also great, but it could even just be like going to the local campuses in Portland,” said Morasch.

Students can find resources on colleges on the Lincoln High School website, under the counseling tab, where they can go to the career center or college center. Students can also find other summer opportunities at Summer and Youth Employment Resources.