Use your Winter and Spring Breaks for Science
Enjoy a couple weeks in December with family and friends but January can offer the chance for field training, visiting research labs, joining a professional organization or attending a conference. Spring Break offers another opportunity. Plan ahead and check with Study Abroad and our very own Career Center. Read their advice: https://career.berkeley.edu/article/041217a-hh.stm
There are wonderful opportunities near and far to volunteer your science to make a difference. Any and all of these experiences contribute to your applications for the more competitive summer opportunites - for which you should be exploring and drafting applications as early as December and January. I hope you remembered to ask faculty for letters of recommendation before you left campus. Strengthen your skills, explore, clarify your goals and have fun doing what interests you. Below is a sample site for an organization which has faculty led reforestration research and field trips during the breaks for university students.