Finding what you want to pursue as a career is a challenge most students go through. There are so many options for areas of study such as medicine, engineering, or some kind of science. Some seniors have been sure for a while about what they want to study, but many are not sure by the time early admissions open.

There are also many tools that students can use before they start to feel rushed including counselors and college fairs. For some students, summer programs might be an amazing opportunity to take part in before senior year. These programs allow students to explore foreign environments in countries around the world, create connections, and build valuable skills for life.

Ariana Agudelo, an eleventh grader at The Columbus School, applied to a summer program as a rising sophomore. She applied to Georgetown University because it could help with university applications. Agudelo also mentioned “that experience of meeting new people and kind of getting out of my comfort zone.”

For her, this program was a way to enrich her education and find out what path she really wants to pursue in the future.

Through that experience, Agudelo also learned more about what she does and does not enjoy. “Even though I liked the idea and the thought of being an entrepreneur, maybe I’m just not,” she said, explaining that she “really didn’t like all the things that maybe it would require” of her.

The program helped her reflect more deeply on her interests and expectations. She expected to find out how much she liked being an entrepreneur, but in the end she figured out it was not for her. This is also important because picking a career is not only about choosing what you enjoy. It is also about recognizing what is not your strong suit in order to have a successful university life and career.

Agudelo also emphasized that applying to universities is about more than numbers. “It’s not just having a good application,” she said. “It’s having the passion and absolute kind of adoration for a university… it’s more than just the grades and how much you get on your SAT.”

She explained that a strong application is more than just grades. It is also about who you are as a person and what you bring to the table.

Mar Jaramillo is also an eleventh grader at TCS and shared a similar motivation for applying to the Vogue summer program. “My dream is to study fashion and focus on business, and this summer program offers that opportunity to experience the life of fashion business,” Mar said.

For her, the program is a chance to see what that world is really like by actually utilizing her skills in an environment that requires her to leave her comfort zone and try new things.

Mar believes that challenging yourself is a key part of that process. “When you step out of your comfort zone… you learn a lot and it helps you discover yourself and your career,” she said.

The experience is also about clarity. “I want to see if this is what I really like to do for the rest of my life,” Mar added. It is not just about liking your career. It is about getting hands on experience and living an immersive and unique opportunity.

Ms. J is a teacher for juniors and seniors at TCS. She helps dozens of students each year complete their college applications.

Ms. J highlighted what makes summer programs different from traditional school settings. She explained that they do not feel like “the monotonous things that we tend to bring into education,” because students are free from grades and can focus on learning and building community.

“There’s nobody giving you a grade; you get to learn, you get to build community,” she said.

In many ways, testing, worksheets, and grades are not what provide life experience. Experiences and connections do.

According to Ms. J, the choice to participate makes the experience more meaningful. “It’s not just like a project they had to do for class, it’s something you signed up for,” she said.

She noted that students can talk about these experiences in a specific way because they build skills and are intense. She added that when students reflect afterward, “the life skills that you picked up on it while also having fun are incredible.”

Through these experiences, students build social skills while enriching their knowledge of a topic that is meaningful to them.

She also pointed out that summer programs allow students to redefine themselves. “You don’t have any of those obligations to being that person who you’ve either been defined as or feel comfortable with in high school,” Ms. J said.

Instead, students can “step into a role that you’re passionate about, that you’re excited about.” Obligations such as taking classes you do not enjoy or constantly preparing for tests can take away from actually learning.

When you are given feedback and constructive criticism, that is what helps you grow.

For students like Ariana and Mar, and educators like Ms. J, summer programs offer more than a line on an application. They provide space for exploration, reflection, and growth, both academically and personally.