Summer is a season when lemonade becomes the popular drink, swimming pools are open for business and people unwind from the long winter months. From May until August, people relax during the hot summer months by vacationing, attending concerts or just simply enjoying the outdoors. 

Sweet-treat shops, like Rita’s or Ben and Jerry’s, reopen a month before the official start of summer, and they easily become a popular hangout spot for young adults and professionals after work. 

But really, summer shouldn’t be all fun and games. It is a crucial time for networking, internships and volunteer experience for college students, according to Santina Frazer, Elsie Boucek and Angela Scaramucci at the Career Development Office at Point Park University. 

At the University, the Career Development Office assists students in developing their resumé and interview skills. They also assist students in finding and landing internships during the school’s term and summer.“ A student’s summer should partly be spent at an internship or volunteering for an organization that will create connections for future careers,” career counselor Elsie Boucek said.

Boucek and the Career Development Office understand students need to unwind after two long semesters, but they encourage students to take advantage of their summer months. The counselors motivate students to visit them throughout the semesters. They frequently sit down with students and go over available internships around the area. Students have to contact the place of the internship themselves, but since they went through the Career Development Office, Boucek says she will generously type a recommendation for a student she has met with and send it to the internship location. 

Angela Scaramucci, Coordinator of Employer Relations, said that 102 students had summer internships last year. 

“It never hurts to start early. I work with employers directly, and they love to hear from freshman,” Scaramucci said. “They encourage job shadowing or volunteer work before internships. It really just gives students more experience.” 

Students are realizing that the more experience, the better. It is all about making connections in today’s society, and students understand that the summer months are a great time to do that. 

Maggie McCauley, sophomore broadcasting and public relations/advertising double major from New Bethlehem, is spending her summer on campus as an orientation leader and working at the Point Park’s Admissions Office as an admission’s assistant. But surely McCauley’s summer does not stop there. She is following the advice of the Career Development Office, and she is has a full schedule for the upcoming months. 

McCauley has a social media internship at Young Professional Women in Energy, a non-profit organization, and she will also be the communications intern at Pretty Living, a public relations firm. In addition, McCauley will be working at the Pandora store located in Shadyside.

McCauley said having a full schedule during the summer is somewhat stressful, but she knows it is only building connections for her future endeavors. 

“Network and plan ahead for the future in the summer because it is a time where you can really focus on yourself,” McCauley said. 

Sophomore musical theatre major Zane Wagner will be traveling back to his hometown in Williamsport to spend his summer directing his own show for the Make A Wish Foundation entitled “The Happiest Show on Earth.” He has an internship lined up to direct and stage manage a student production at a community theatre in his hometown.

No longer being a ‘kid’ is becoming the true reality for junior sports, arts and entertainment management (SAEM) major Shannon McShane, from Munhill because she will be graduating from Point Park in December of 2015. Officially, this will be her last summer as a student, and she will be spending it at a Thrill Mill internship. Additionally, she will also be an orientation leader with McCauley. 

“My advice to lowerclassmen would to be definitely spend the summer doing something like an internship or part-time job so you have extra experience on your resumé,” McShane said. 

Internships and volunteering does not have to be just office work. Boucek suggests becoming a camp counselor for the YMCA or a church group. She also said if a student joins an organization or club, making connections becomes so easy when involved and meeting new people. If a student holds an officer position, it looks fantastic on a resumé.

“Just keep making connections, and future opportunities will come about,” Boucek said.