Holiday breaks are a great time for rest, relaxation, fun and spending time with family and friends. They are also a great time to spend time engaging in academic and professional development activities so you can advance in the achievement of your short and long term goals.
Below are a few ideas for taking advantage of the free time your holiday break affords you.
Connect with individuals in your professional network
The holidays are a great time to connect with people in your network. Send holiday greetings via email or e-card or by sending a card in the mail. Holidays parties and events are also a great time to connect with your network.
Spend time on academic preparation for the next semester
This is important especially if you are taking the second part in a series of courses for example Calculus II, Chemistry II, next semester. Reviewing concepts especially those that you didn’t master in the first course in the series prepare you for the next course. These courses build upon prior knowledge and your success in them can be dependent on the mastery of the concepts in the previous course.
Complete and work on applications
Make time to complete applications for jobs, internships, scholarships, and fellowships. If you are applying to graduate or professional school work on those applications as well. This is also a good time to ask for reference letters from professors or supervisors. It is best to have an electronic version of reference letters in your files that you can send to individuals to update to be specific for each application, you will need a reference letter.
Update your resume/CV and LinkedIn profile
Update your resume with things such as the relevant coursework and any new professional skills you developed (research, laboratory and technical skills). Also be sure to add any professional experience such as your participation in an internship or research program, if you presented research at a conference or had an article or your research published in an academic journal.
Work with your parents/guardian to gather the information to complete your
FAFSA. The earlier you complete your FAFSA the earlier you will be considered for the various financial resources available to you at your college or university. It will allow you to get your reward letter earlier and get priority consideration for the limited financial resources available to students. It also allows you to plan ahead to meet any financial gaps between what the school will provide you and what you need for your education.
Order your textbooks for the next semester
If you are trying to save money by purchasing your books online instead of the campus bookstore ordering your books during the holidays can ensure that you get your books in time for the first day of the new semester.
A native of Miami, Florida and an alumna of Florida A & M University, Ms. Tokiwa T. Smith is a social entrepreneur and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) educator with over 10 years’ experience working in education and philanthropy. Ms. Smith is CEO and Principal Owner of Kemet Educational Services, a STEM educational consulting firm and the Founder and Executive Director of Science, Engineering and Mathematics Link Inc. a nonprofit organization that exposes urban youth to STEM. Ms. Smith is also a writer and workshop speaker on topics in STEM education and professional development. Ms. Smith conducts workshops on various STEM education topics and serves on the Advisory Council of the University of California at Berkeley Pre-College Trio Program. She is a member of the Coalition for the Public Understanding of Science (CoPUS). Ms. Smith’s work has been featured in several media outlets. In 2013 she was named as one Ebony Magazine’s 10 Black Twitter Tweeps to Watch! and in 2014, she was featured on NPR’s Tell Me More Women Digital Thinkers Tweet for A Day. In 2014, she wrote her first book A Guide to Hosting STEM Events.
