I know way too many people who party it up in the summer. They live for free at their parent’s house, go swimming at the lake every day, couch surf at their friend’s houses and party all night, well into the morning sometimes.

I’m all for a good time during summer break, but there needs to be a balance between work and play. Have a fun time, but I hope students are working or have internships that relate to what they want to do after college.

Summer is a break from school, yes, but take advantage of that time and maximize it for your future.

Virginia Hinch, director for EWU Career Services, said she believes internships give students a chance to explore the career field they are interested in. “Internships are extremely important,” Hinch said.

Internships, jobs and volunteer work are all ways to gain experience toward a future career field. Why not spend your time preparing for your future and having fun gaining valuable experience, instead of laying around, catching up on House of Cards on Netflix?

Sean Clausen, an Eastern junior student and a finance and economy major, said summer work can provide the experience necessary for post-graduate job positions. Clausen said Eastern is at one of the biggest disadvantages out of all the state’s public schools because we start summer so late.

By the time Eastern students are finished with spring quarter, semester schools have already been out for break for a few weeks.

Eastern students have to begin applying for summer positions during the spring to ensure the same opportunities for employment as semester schools.

“If you aren’t first, you’re last,” said Clausen.

Eastern offers resources for students to find internships and job opportunities for over the summer: CareerShift and EagleAXIS.

Both resources are available on EWU’s Career Services webpage, allowing students to have access to companies and job postings. The sites allow searches based on keywords, location and full or part-time positions.

I applied for two on-campus positions during the school year through EagleAXIS and an internship for the summer.

The site was easy to understand and use. I was able to upload my résumé and cover letter to the site and both were stored in my account to use when I applied for other positions.

EWU Career Services and the Writers’ Center help with résumé and cover letter writing. Oftentimes, it is how a person appears on paper that gets them that initial first interview.

For my visual communication design major, an internship can constitute as an elective and journalism majors are required to find an internship to graduate.

Hinch said a degree is great, but it is not enough anymore to always get the job you want.

“Internships are part of [students’] academic program, especially juniors and seniors,” said Hinch.