With the school year coming to an end and the summer rolling in, some of us have very high expectations for how we will be spending the next 10 weeks but if you’re like most of us your only plans are to binge watch a couple seasons of Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix. Although it may sound enticing at the moment, think in terms of long term satisfaction. Summer is your time. You have 1,680 hours free of AP Calculus tests, Student lot traffic, early morning hours and cafeteria food. SUMMER IS YOUR PRIME TIME to do the following:
1. Start your competitive event: Similar to athletics, when an athlete takes a few months to rest they lose some of their flexibility or stamina when the season starts back up again. Don’t let all of the presentation tricks of the trade you learned this year go down the drain! Start thinking about your manual and write an outline of it. Not only will this give you more time to put your ideas together but you’ll avoid the dreaded GPA drop this winter when you’re able to focus on your academics because you finished your event during the summer. Attached is a fabulous 20 minute video from DECA Ontario on YouTube that gives some competition pointers to help you get started!
2. Start fundraising: There is nothing like getting back to school and having to compete against the band selling chocolate, chorus selling candles and football selling cupcakes. By planning ahead your chapter will thrive in all of their fundraising endeavors (GO DECA)! Pinterest is a great resource for finding unique fundraisers. Among my other favorite sites for fundraising are Gofundme.com, fundraiserinsight.org and fundraising-ideas.org
3. Get together with your officer team: Every DECA member loves a good cup of coffee or a Frappuccino so call up your team! It’s important to establish a bond as a team and there is no better time to do so then over the summer! By planning a few dates, you will get to know each other’s visions for your chapter and eventually you’ll be in sync with one another. Teamup is a very helpful online shared calendar that you may use to avoid conflict.
Check out my video blog for more ideas on how to innovate your summer free time and above all, I wish you a safe and happy summer!