Featured Student: Maximizing Your Time During Summer

By Janet Zimmerman

            I hear all the time that we are lucky as students to have summer breaks, and I am in total agreement. Summer is a wonderful time to relax and rejuvenate from the stress of a hectic school year (we all need this right after exam week especially!).  It is also a time when students have more free time to pursue the things we love doing, whether within the field of dietetics or in general.  I know I love being outdoors and spending extra time walking, hiking, biking, and swimming in the summer time.  I also love the time that I have to go to conferences, go dietetic association meetings, volunteer at the farmers market, and shadow Registered Dietitians both locally and nationally.

So how do we maximize our summers as students and aspiring RD-to-Be’s?

·       Use the extra free time you have for “Me” time.  Relaxation and extra fun time during the summer refresh me and keep me from burning out on school.  I also love getting to spend more time with friends and family and building relationships that have been put on the back-burner while I had little time with school.  Use some of your time to cater to any needs that may have been overlooked during the school year.

·       Plan dietetic events and experiences into your summer plans.  Look at your local dietetic associations meeting schedule and plan to attend some meetings.  Look for opportunities to network with and shadow RDs in your area or across the country.  You might want to check out All Access Internship’s great list of internship opportunities.  Look for volunteer or job positions with hospitals, WIC, local farmers markets, food service, or whatever you are passionate about.

·       Prepare for the Future. Use time to assess what you want to do with your dietetics degree, what internship you want to get into (if you haven’t already applied), and where you see yourself in a few years.  Look at the criteria of the dietetic internships that you want to get matched to and start working through the list of things the DI wants in its applicants. Dream a little and set goals for yourself; just knowing an idea of what you want to do is a huge step toward getting there.

What do you plan on doing this summer?  I hope each of you will have maximized summers--- filled with excitement, relaxation, and experience!

On a side note, good luck to those of you who are in the middle of exams; I am sure that you will all rock them!! This is my last post as the featured student blogger.  Thanks for letting me share my life and tid-bits of advice throughout the semester!