Summer Opportunities

Summer is a great time to relax and recharge, and to spend time with friends and family. It is also an excellent opportunity to explore extracurricular and academic interests in different ways outside of the RCHS classroom. Our Summer Enrichment Programs Spreadsheet has links to numerous opportunities for classes, camps and other summer experiences that might be of interest to you. Talk with your College Counselor if you need advice or assistance with any of the programs you discover on the spreadsheet or elsewhere.

This spreadsheet is intended to help RCHS students identify interesting or relevant summer programs. Students and families are strongly advised and expected to thoroughly appraise and research summer programs on their own. Moreover, this spreadsheet is intended for informational purposes only. The list is NOT intended to be a comprehensive, exhaustive list.

View the Summer Enrichment Program Spreadsheet

How Your Counselor Can Help

A conversation with your counselor can help you think about the wide variety of possibilities available for summer enrichment opportunities based upon your interests and goals. Additionally, your College Counselor can help provide, for any programs that require them, materials such as transcripts and/or recommendations.

About Financial Assistance

While there are many free or low-cost opportunities available, many programs can be costly. Scholarships or financial assistance may be available for families in need. Typically, these requests for help require an earlier application than the normal deadline, as well as documentation. Be ready to review each programs' specific guidelines and due dates. Let your College Counselor know if you need help investigating financial assistance for summer enrichment programs.

Myles Robinson, RCHS College Counselor to students in downstairs advisories (100’s)

Dave Palmieri, RCHS College Counselor to students in upstairs advisories (200’s)

Some ideas for types of summer experiences might include:

Living and traveling in a foreign country. Sometimes this can be done with family. Other times, it can be facilitated by a travel program or a study-abroad program. These programs often include language acquisition courses, cultural and historic aspects, volunteer work or scientific research components.
Volunteer opportunities in your community. Various possibilities for volunteering exist with local organizations and nonprofits. You could serve your community with a group of friends or on your own. These opportunities include a wide range of areas, including environmental protection, parks and recreation, housing, social services and care for those in need.
PreCollege academic and leadership experiences. Many colleges and universities offer weeklong or multi-week experiences on their campuses to explore a variety of academic areas in what they often call “pre-college” classes. While these can be great academic experiences, they can also serve as a valuable introduction to college and campus life, including the residential component of a college experience. You’ll see many of these types of programs on the spreadsheet.
Internships or job-shadowing in local businesses and nonprofits. Internships vary from programs that coordinate research opportunities to shadowing experiences at local businesses and organizations. A friend, neighbor, mentor, or family member could possibly help you connect with a local professional on their job. Internships provide students a first-hand introduction to different career fields and help to guide students as they begin to think about what to study in college.
Summer employment. In addition to an income, summer employment provides experiences that teach leadership, cooperation and responsibility. These experiences working with supervisors and patrons are skills students will certainly take with them beyond high school graduation.
Caretaking responsibilities. Whether younger children, people living with disabilities, older adults, or others needing supervision or extra help around the house, taking care of people and animals at home or in your neighborhood is an important and worthwhile activity. It may also be the reason why taking advantage of other summer experiences is challenging for you. Colleges want to hear about these summer experiences, too.