What Should High School Students Do In The Summer?

Ah, the summer break. After 2 whole months of slogging through online classes, you are finally ready to kick back, relax, and put your mind to learning a new hobby, or adding to your extracurriculars for college- or are you? Despite all your planning, do you still find yourself procrastinating– frowning with a sense of unfulfilment at the day’s end? 

Well, worry not! Here are the Top 5 Productive Summer Activities You Can Pursue Right Now.

1. An Online Certificate Course!

Just like you, high school students all over the world are concerned that their 2020 summer school programs were canceled owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

So now, how are you supposed to add to your extracurriculars for those pesky college applications? 

The answer is an online Summer Course. You heard that right, big-name universities like Harvard and MIT are providing certificate courses to high school students this year on websites like edX, all free of cost!

‘Online summer course’ is the hot buzz-term in 2020, and it’s for all the right reasons.

Along with the usual prestige of taking classes from an Ivy League university, you get the added benefit of attending them from the comfort of your homes!

These courses are mostly free, and short- mostly ranging from a month to 2 months in duration- giving you the golden opportunity to not just attend a single one- but rack up multiple courses in your portfolio and become a shining bright applicant for your Dream University!

2. An Online Internship!

Internships have consistently been one of the top university selection criteria. You may ask yourself just like I did: why is it so?

Well, to explain the gargantuan impact an internship can have on your Profile-Building, imagine yourself in the shoes of an admissions officer at your dream university:

2 applicants reach your desk- curiosity bubbling in their eyes- but you can only choose one. Only one of them will be accepted into your university today- their dream university. You proceed to look at their profiles.

Student 1: They have an illustrious profile- decorated with olympiad ranks and academic achievement, but no internship experience. 

Student 2: They have the usual combination- good SAT scores, a good TOEFL rank, but then something catches your eye. Rather than excelling in one olympiad after another, student 2 pursued an internship, took online summer courses, and gathered community service experience!

So, which one will you choose? 

You can already notice a monumental difference between the two students. While student 1 is the typical topper- with whole cupboards full of olympiad medals- they have no real-world experience. 

Foreign universities focus more on practical learning, hence they prefer students with real-world experience with which a student can make a difference at the university. Sure, it is great to have olympiad ranks- it shows how good you are at core studies. However, they are not a necessity- nowhere near as much as an internship.

How can you apply for an internship?

Now, you may ask, how do I apply for an internship during the lockdown?

Well, look no further. You can pursue an internship right here, at Henry Harvin Education. You can gather real-world experience from seasoned professionals in a multitude of subjects- from content-writing to digital marketing and machine learning using Python. 

You can also apply for the Henry Harvin Teen MBA Course, where you will get an opportunity to gain vital knowledge to become a CTO, CFO or even a CEO of your very own company!

3. Community Service- the spirit of paying forward!

In the trying times that we are faced with in the year 2020, the least we can do is to pay back to the world that birthed us. From appreciating the brave coronawarriors fighting on the front lines for our safety, to just everyday acts of kindness- your good intentions can go a long way. 🙂

But how can you engage in the positive spirit of giving back while being stuck in lockdown? Here are some ways:

• Sewing face masks for health workers, and the needy.
• Checking on seniors, disabled, and other at-risk neighbours by asking them what their needs are, or just having a friendly phone conversation with them. 🙂
• Designing homemade thank-you cards for front-line healthcare workers.
• Offering free tutoring sessions to younger neighbours or the needy via video conferencing.
• Providing food and water to stray animals.

4. Start a new hobby, and post it on YouTube!

Apart from the above, you can focus on developing a new creative hobby like sketching, singing, playing the piano, or just doing yoga.

You can learn how to become proficient in these art forms through online tutorials, and eventually, even post videos of your own music or dance covers, sketching timelapses, yoga routines, and instrumental renditions on YouTube!

5. And finally, just have fun! 🙂

Staying in quarantine can make one feel sad and lonely. Hence, it is extremely important for one to set aside a few hours everyday to just sit back and relax.

You can contact your friends every day via video conferencing media like Discord or Houseparty, and play fun, multiplayer video games like Brawlhalla, Fortnite or Skribbl. Alternatively, you can also enjoy movie streaming sessions with your friends through Chrome extensions like Netflix Party and Prime Video Party.

So pull up a lawn chair, cook yourself some popcorn, and enjoy an episode of Friends or Brooklyn Nine-Nine, because this summer is yours to cherish!

Check the Review of Summer Internship Program (Henry Harvin)

Conclusion

In a nutshell, these are the ways you can turn a boring, lackluster summer into a fruitful, joyous and memorable time:

1. Attending an online certificate course from a major university.
2. Pursuing an online internship program with Henry Harvin Education, or the Henry Harvin Junior MBA Course.
3. Engaging in community service- the spirit of paying forward positivity!
4. Developing a new creative hobby, and showcasing it on YouTube!
5. Lastly, just having fun and spending time with friends! 🙂

This is how I will be spending my summer. Is it also how you will be spending yours– or do you have some other awe-inspiring ideas of your own? Share them in the comments below!