81. A Summer Guide for Parents and Adolescents: Strategies for Future Success

Unlock Your Adolescent's Potential: Essential Tips for a Transformative Summer Break

How you can help your adolescent maximize their summer break? By building character and developing essential skills. Whether you're a parent or an adolescent yourself, this episode is packed with valuable insights and practical advice to ensure a productive and enriching summer.

Episode Highlights:

• Discuss Summer Planning
• Internships and Job Opportunities
• Summer Classes and Workshops
• Volunteering
• Skill Development and Leadership Programs
• Academic and Career Preparation
• Health and Wellness

Special Announcement:

Introduction to our upcoming online course for 10th-12th graders with live group coaching sessions and modules covering character development, career connections, and more. For more information email info@college.careerready.org

Additional Resources:

• Episode 78: Importance of Letters of Recommendation
• Episode 79: Creating a Standout Portfolio

Get in Touch:

• Email: info@collegecareerready.org
• Website: collegecareerready.org

Thank you for joining us today! We hope this episode inspires you to start meaningful conversations with your adolescent about their summer plans. Stay well, be present, and enjoy the journey. See you next week!

Connect with Sonia Cacique
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Join our College and Career Connections Club for free at www.CollegeCareerReady.org/join

Learn about our Career Connections Course: www.CollegeCareerReady.org/COURSE

"Stay well, be present, and enjoy the journey"

Transcript

0:38

Well, hello. Thank you for tuning in. I am going to give you a heads up on today's episode. I will be talking to you about how to help your adolescent maximize their summer break. And how can they maximize their summer break? Well, by building their character and developing essential skills. So you might want to listen to this episode with your adolescent or some Send them the episode and tell them that you too can talk about it after they listen to it. No matter where you are listening to us from, this episode is going to be very beneficial. It will help your adolescent in their academic journey, whether it's in high school or college. Summer is a great opportunity to grow personally, academically, and or professionally. And I've got you and your adolescent covered. So as the summer break approaches, I know that you're eager to ensure that your adolescent has a productive and enriching experience. However, what is most important, or what you can do right now, is to sit down and have a conversation with your adolescent to decide what to do. They need more support on whether it's in building their character, career exploration, building their skills for future career plans, or further preparing themselves academically. It's a great time to sit down and have a conversation and really get on the same page because at the end of the day, my friend, their education journey should prepare them and lead them to their future career endeavors. Now, as you have probably heard me say many times during the high school years, it should be a time of career exploration, not defining. As they get closer to senior year, or if they're already a senior or entering college, it would be obviously to their best interest to have a career or degree plan a little more defined, and that might even switch as they start their college years. The summer time, whether they are in high school or in college, is a great opportunity for them to further explore their career interests and options. I love being the connecting piece between the education world and the current workforce. Regardless of what career or profession your adolescent is interested in, each of these options will help build their character and skills. There have been so much talk about what AI is doing, whether it's good or bad. You know what? We're not even going to go into that debate here. The most important thing that I want you and your adolescent to know is that AI will never replace one's character and soft skills that we develop and acquire in real life. In our experiential learning, what is experiential learning? Well, those experiences out in the workforce, out in the community, out of the classroom that builds their skills and character. I'm a huge advocate of getting our students connected in the real world as early as possible. And what better time than the summer? Today, I will be sharing with you valuable options that you and your adolescent can explore together that will help them build their character and soft skills. So I'm going to start off with the first one that most of you know. still can overlook internships and job opportunities. Now, if your child is offered the opportunity of an internship, whether it's unpaid or paid, it's still an opportunity that they can develop skills. So never overlook internship opportunities. opportunities, shadowing opportunities, or those opportunities where they're, they just get to see behind the scenes for a day of what's happening in the workforce. Internships and summer jobs provide practical experience and exposure to potential career paths. Many companies and organizations offer positions specifically for high school and college students. So start looking for those in your community. What better way to explore careers when the bar is set low enough for your adolescent to give it a test run. Please don't wait until they have completed college to start exploring options. Encourage your adolescent to start today. I have seen it way too many times where an adolescent will finish their college and their degree plan, and then they realize this career plan is not a good fit. They have the summer time to explore these options. And again, even if they cannot find a paid internship or a paid job opportunity, there are plenty of people out in the community that will help your child explore the career by taking them for the day. Or getting on a phone call or virtual meeting to discuss and explore what their job is like day to day. Research opportunities. Look for internships in fields that your child is interested in. Prepare resumes and cover letters. Tailor these documents to highlight relevant skills and experiences. If they hadn't worked This is a time to do so. Use platforms like LinkedIn to connect with professionals and explore openings. This is especially useful for our college students. If they haven't created their LinkedIn account yet, they need to do so today. The next topic I'm going to cover is summer classes and workshops. Many educational institutions offer summer courses and workshops that can help students get ahead academically or explore new subjects. These options can be such as online classes, which are a lot more flexible and convenient for us parents and the child, allowing students to learn from anywhere. Community college courses that are affordable and often transferable to their main institution. There's opportunities for high school students and college students to take some courses, whether it's virtually or in person. And then, of course, specialized workshops that focus on specific skills such as coding, writing, or public speaking. But remember, start the conversation first with your adolescent and find out what is it that they would like to further work on this summer. Volunteering is another great opportunity. It's a meaningful way to contribute to the community while developing leadership and teamwork skills. Volunteering develops empathy, leadership skills, and a sense of community, a sense of belonging. Some ideas that I can share with you are joining local non profits. Organizations always need extra hands and students can make a real difference. So start looking for local non profits in your area. They can engage in environmental projects and participate in activities like tree planning, beach cleanups, or community gardens. Remember these skills that they acquire during these experiences are perfect to go on their resume and to be showcased in their portfolio. If you have not listened to my last episode on portfolios. On episode number 79, I specifically spoke about how you can stand out with a portfolio, and this is great for college admissions, internships, and job interviews. It's a great guide for students. Again, it's episode number 79 and I'll make sure to have a link in our show notes. Consider virtual volunteering as well. If in person opportunities are limited, many organizations offer remote ways to contribute. Skill development and leadership programs encourage your adolescent to acquire new skills or enhance existing ones. Many programs are available, such as youth leadership camps. These often focus on outdoor activities, leadership challenges, and team building exercises. local schools, community centers, and nonprofits frequently host leadership workshops. Language courses is also a great way to learn a new language and guess what? Learning a new language can be advantageous for future careers. For those interested in academic pursuits, summer can be a time to dive into research projects. Opportunities include university programs, where many colleges offer summer research programs for high school and undergraduate students. There's also independent projects. Encourage your adolescents to propose and conduct their own research under the guidance of a mentor. If they're into researching, statistics, I highly recommend this as an option. That is a great opportunity for them to further enhance their skills and to add it to their portfolio. For students interested in academics, they can also do independent study where they pursue a topic of interest and again, seek mentorship from a teacher or professor. So they can reach out to a past teacher or professor and see if they can guide them into independently studying a particular topic of interest. Summer is also an ideal time to prepare for future academic and career milestones, such as preparation for, test prep. Whether it's SAT, ACT, GRE, or other standardized tests, take this opportunity to prepare because right now, they are not in school, or if they're taking summer classes, they will have a little bit more time than they typically do during the school year, and it allows them to prepare. the opportunity to use extra time that they have available to prepare for these exams. If your adolescent is an incoming high school senior, this is the time to be preparing for their SAT and ACT score. And as a matter of fact, even if your adolescent is entering their junior year in high school, this is a critical time as well because Their test grade in their SAT or ACT can make an impact on scholarship opportunities and merit scholarships specifically. So this is the time to be studying and preparing for pre SAT. They are a transfer student. high school senior, this is the time to start working on college applications. It's not too early. This is a perfect time where they can start working on their essay, gathering application materials, and getting themselves organized because once the year starts, it's going to be so busy. Senior year is going to go by so quickly. So the more they are prepared in advance, the better experience they will have and the more time they will have to actually enjoy their senior year. And last but not least, they can also prepare for their future career by exploring potential career paths and required qualifications. So if your child is in high school or they're in college, they need to know what the required qualifications are currently in the workforce so they can start preparing for that as well. And speaking about. workforce. One thing that is overlooked is that when they graduate from college, they will start applying at jobs And companies will start asking for three to five years of experience. And your child is going to say, I went to college and I was studying. And they're going to say, where's your three years of experience? Well, guess what? You have three summers during your college years. Those three summers are essential to gain the experience that you need, because guess what? Those three summers will actually count as three years of experience. So take advantage of the summer to start preparing for that experience that they're going to be asking from you when you graduate from college and start looking for that job. Last but not least, definitely not least, is health and wellness. I want to emphasize the importance of maintaining physical and mental well being. They can attend fitness programs, such as joining a gym, taking a fitness class, or participate in sports. And I will have to say this, my friend, us as parents, we have to lead by example. So maybe this is a great opportunity for you to connect with your adolescent and start doing more. Things together that require fitness and movement and being out and about. Mental health is very important. They can practice mindfulness, taking deep breaths, seeking counseling. I'm a huge advocate of counselors and therapists. They are there to help support you in every way, especially in their mental health. And last but not least, it's time to Healthy habits, encouraging, balancing, nutrition, and adequate rest. I cannot emphasize that enough. Going to sleep at a good time, even on their summer break, is important because it helps their body decompress and re energize for the next day. And it also builds a good habit so when they go back to school, it's not going from completely no schedule to a strict schedule, and then they're all good. Trying to master it all on those first weeks of school. so hopefully these tips have encouraged you and motivated you to start the conversation with your adolescent today and figuring out what they want to explore this summer. By exploring these options, your adolescent can make the most of their summer gaining experiences that will benefit them academically, personally and professionally. your adolescent can have a summer filled with growth, learning and meaningful experiences. These activities not only build character and skills, but also prepare them for future challenges and ultimately their future career. I want to share with my community that this summer, I will be having an online course for high school seniors to help develop some of those skills mentioned here through an online course. With live group coaching sessions with me, your host, and your coach, Sonia Cacique. In this program, we will work together and help your adolescent develop their character, identify their skills and values that can help them identify career options, aligned with their needs. After this course, they will be able to effectively write their college essay because colleges want to know why your adolescent would be of value to their campus. And guess what? They won't know if they have not done the self reflections needed to clearly state who they are and what they have to offer. Plus, in this program, we also have a Career Connections module where I teach them how to successfully create their LinkedIn profile and how to start connecting with industry leaders and exploring career options. By the end of the program, they will be able to create their own roadmap. So if you are interested in getting more information, send me an email to info at collegecareerready. org. Again, that's info at collegecareerready. org or go to our show notes for the direct link. Thank you so much friend for joining us today. I hope this was encouraging and motivating for you to start the conversation today with your adolescent. Let me tell you, as much as we talk about GPA and grades, the current workforce that The big companies, what they're looking for is students with character. Graduates from college who know who they are, what they have to offer, and also can identify the skills that they've learned and developed over the years. If you are interested in learning more about portfolios, this is why summer is essential in their personal and career development. And once your adolescent finishes their summer experience, make sure that you remind them to ask for a letter of recommendation. If you want to learn more about the effectiveness and the importance of letters of recommendation, you can check out episode number 78. of your college and career ready podcast, where I will explore with you the importance of letters of recommendation that guess what? Can go into your students portfolio. Remember, we talk about students portfolio in episode 79. So just listen to them back to back episode number 78 and 79 to better prepare your adolescent for their future career plans. All right, my sweet friend, I hope you have an amazing day. Thank you for being here with us. And until next week, stay well, be present and enjoy the journey. Thank you for listening in. If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean so much to me. If you share it with a friend, a colleague, or your own community, if you share it on social media and tag me, I'll make sure to personally thank you. My two favorite places to hang out are Instagram and LinkedIn. Check out our show notes for a direct link. I'm so thankful for each and every one of you. And as always stay well, be present and enjoy the journey. I'll talk to you next week. Adios.