Most high-schoolers see summer time as a time to relax and get away from their studies, but the chances to strengthen resumes in preparation for college during the summer are endless!

Junior Zoe Goff participated in a summer art and design programs at Maryville University for the past two years.

“The session I’ve been taking the past two summers, and I’m going to do this summer for the third year, is interior and graphic design, pre-college class,” Goff said.

Some colleges offer courses for college credit, but even programs without college-credit-earning opportunities have benefits for students.

“It’s really good for building up an art portfolio, which you need if you’re going into design, which is what I want to do. It’s also good for connections at Maryville –I’m good friends with someone who monitors scholarships,” Goff said. “We also toured some St. Louis design firms, which was cool, because we could see where we would actually be working if we went into graphic and interior design.”

Maryville, as well as most other major colleges in the area such as SLU, UMSL, WashU and Missouri S&T have many summer programs and courses offered to high school students to prepare them for college and future careers. Beta Chi Pi (Science Honors Society) President senior Sarah Shin senior knows of several summer opportunities for students interested in science.

“There’s the STARS (Students and Teachers as Research Scientists) Program at WashU that is open to current sophomores and juniors,” Shin said. “Rolla does engineering camps too; I think they are about a week long during the summer.”

No matter where one’s academic interest lies, Counselor Jennifer Spotanski says there is something for everyone through the online Family Connections site.

“We update Family Connections as we get different opportunities. For specific programs, students can log in to their Family Connections account and then click on the colleges tab and then enrichment.  Students can search all programs or subject specific,” Spotanski said. “One really good program sponsored by Parkway is the summer College Planning Program at Maryville.”

By finding a summer program that is right for her, Goff feels that she has benefitted.

“If you want to get into an art profession, this is the best way to get experience, to build up your portfolio, and to get an idea of what the profession is like,” Goff said.