{"id":9232,"date":"2021-05-03T01:00:33","date_gmt":"2021-05-03T06:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/admissions\/?p=9232"},"modified":"2021-04-26T09:30:14","modified_gmt":"2021-04-26T14:30:14","slug":"summer-success-suggestions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/admissions\/2021\/05\/03\/summer-success-suggestions\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Success Suggestions"},"content":{"rendered":"

As your student finishes up finals week and comes home for the summer, the first thing they may want to do is sleep, binge watch some Netflix and sleep some more. After they catch up on those much-deserved, much-needed Z\u2019s, encourage them to spend the summer setting themselves up for success.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Lounging around without structure and goals for the summer, while sounding good in theory, could set your student up to be less productive through the summer than they would be with some scheduled time. Let your student have the downtime they desire and deserve, but encourage them to have a successful summer, so they will have an easier transition back when they return in the fall.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Here are several suggestions to set them up for a successful summer break!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Read a Book<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone should spend some of their free time reading. Whether your student has a fiction book that has been waiting patiently on their shelf all semester, or they found a brand new book on a topic related to their major, encourage your student to pick up that book up this summer. By spending just a few minutes reading each day, your student could easily finish more than one book by the end of the summer. Remind your student that this is their chance to read something not on a required reading list!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Work on their Personal Brand<\/span><\/p>\n

Just as important as a resume and cover letter is your student\u2019s personal brand. Encourage your student to take this time to consider what they want their personal brand to develop into, and what it will take to get them there.<\/span><\/p>\n

One facet of their brand that can be easily managed over the summer is their social media presence. While they may be immersed in social media, they may not be immersed at a professional level. Encourage your student to review their social media platforms and remove any content that may be seen as unprofessional by a future employer. The photos from last weekend\u2019s party may be fun, but probably aren\u2019t going to impress their future boss and could even prevent them from getting hired.<\/span><\/p>\n

If your student doesn\u2019t have a LinkedIn account, let them know that it is a great tool for networking and professional development. LinkedIn should act as a supplement to their resume, as there are many job opportunities listed on LinkedIn, and their potential boss may look at their profile before making a hiring decision.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Learn a New Skill<\/span><\/p>\n

During the school year, your student is likely so busy learning what they need for their field of study, that they don\u2019t have time to pursue other interests. Whether they have an interest that they just haven\u2019t had time to develop, or they want to gain another skill that will help them professionally, summer is a great time to develop secondary skills. There is plenty of time for them to finally pick up that musical instrument gathering dust in the corner, or break out their computer and learn how to code. There are plenty of free resources online for learning new skills, and they always have access to Missouri Western\u2019s online library resources over the summer. Encourage your student to think about their goals for the future and develop a skill that will help them succeed.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Get Healthy<\/span><\/p>\n

College can be a stressful time. As finals week approaches and they are working on papers and projects galore, your student probably isn\u2019t making the healthiest decisions. Sometimes after a long night of studying, all they want to do is curl up in bed with Netflix and a whole bag of chips. Several weeks of poor eating habits, poor sleep and lack of exercise can leave them feeling groggy, lethargic and just unmotivated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Encourage your student to take some time this summer for their health. They may not want to join a gym for the summer, but there are many fun activities that they can do outside. From a bike ride through a park, to a hiking trip, there are plenty of activities to keep them busy and healthy! Exercise will keep them upbeat and motivated throughout the summer, which will make it easier for them to transition back into college life in the fall \u2013 where they\u2019ll go back to slamming a whole pizza before the big test on Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n

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No matter what your student chooses to do this summer, encourage them to make the best of it. They can lounge around and enjoy their free time, but they should also take some of that free time to be productive and keep developing as an individual. Even if they only choose one thing from this list, they\u2019ll have a more productive time than they would have had otherwise, and will hopefully be ready to return when school starts back up at the end of August!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As your student finishes up finals week and comes home for the summer, the first thing they may want to do is sleep, binge watch some Netflix and sleep some more. After they catch up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9232"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9232"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9233,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9232\/revisions\/9233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}