Preparing for a Meaningful Winter Break

Winter-break trips — whether for research trips, externships, or networking visits — are short. Colleges work with students ahead of time on skills and planning to help them make the most of their experiences. That preparation also helps students to be good representatives of their institutions and makes it more likely that alumni and companies will want to host or help students from there in the future.

Here are some ways colleges prep their winter explorers:

Swarthmore College: To participate in the winter-break externship program, students must first attend a mandatory orientation in early fall that lays out the commitment and professional etiquette required. Then students submit a résumé and their goals for the externship. While the match is a lottery, the application helps students get in the mind-set of professionalism in the workplace.

The New and Improved Winter Break

Home for the holidays? Maybe, but colleges are offering a lot of tempting alternatives: research and service-learning trips, externships, elective courses, and outdoor adventures. Sorry, Mom and Dad, we might just have to FaceTime this New Year’s Eve.

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After matches, students begin building a relationship with their mentors through phone calls in November and December before they meet in person to introduce themselves and share their goals for the externship.

The college also works with new alumni or parent mentors to coach them on how to offer a meaningful externship experience for students. And the development office reaches out to alumni and parents who could be future mentors or home-stay hosts.

Washington University in St. Louis: For the university’s two-day road shows to different cities and industries, accepted students must attend a mandatory prep session for their particular trip. The focus is on professionalism, including how to ask questions that show students have done their research into the organizations they are visiting.

Illinois State University: Students going on service-learning trips abroad meet biweekly during the fall semester to get an introduction to the language and culture of the country they will be visiting, and to develop constructive expectations for the trip. These sessions also give students a chance to get to know one another.

Davidson College: In order to apply for a travel grant, students must think deeply about what they plan to do. In the application, students lay out their research goals, a plan for accomplishing them, how long they intend to stay abroad, and a detailed budget for their trip. If the application is approved, that budget determines the size of the grant.