By: Lexi Muir <[email protected]>

Senior Anna Wendt has searched throughout Carmel for a job at any location that might be hiring. Filling out a number of applications, Wendt said she hopes to beat the college students who will be coming home for summer and taking jobs.

“The college students will be coming home soon and applying for jobs, so I have to beat them to it,” Wendt said. “I want to get the best job for me. I’m looking for something that is flexible with hours and pays better than my last job.”

Wendt is not alone in her search for a summer job and her struggle to make a summer plan. Many students have found themselves planning for summer much earlier now than they have in the past. According to counselor Becky Stuelpe, summer seems to have “gone away” because people are just busier now. Students today are forced to plan their summer earlier because of their sports, jobs, summer school and everything else that happens throughout the summer.

“Students today don’t get summer like it used to be,” Stuelpe said. “They are just doing more. If (students) wait until summer (to plan), it will be over before they know it. If (they) want to take advantage of their summer break, they need to start planning early.”

Along with searching for a job, Wendt said that she also is planning for a vacation to North Carolina. She plans to go with friends some time in the summer, and she has been planning and saving money for her vacation since August when she found out that she could in fact go.

“(My friends and I) usually go for one week in the summer, depending on when we get the beach house,” Wendt said. “We will probably start to really plan after spring break, buying plane tickets and all that, but I have been saving money and planning for it all year.”

According to Cnn.com, airline tickets should be bought as early as possible because the cheapest fares are snatched up first. They say that most seats go on sale 11 months in advance, and getting a ticket last-minute will most likely be either impossible or extremely expensive.

When interviewing and applying for jobs, Wendt said that she will need to keep her vacation into consideration and make sure the job is flexible enough to allow her to leave for a week.

Some students, however, like junior Kayla Vaughn, have a different view of how to spend their summer. Vaughn said she has no time for a job, let alone a summer vacation. She has no need to plan for her summer because she already has a pretty good idea of what it will entail: softball, softball and more softball.

“I have tournaments every weekend and practice is usually once or twice a week,” Vaughn said. “I don’t really get to hang out with my friends that much because I am always at softball, especially on the weekends.”

When it comes to planning for summer, Vaughn said that the most important thing is that she pays attention to her softball schedule.

“I don’t ever go on vacations because there is no way I can miss a softball tournament,” Vaughn said. “When it comes to planning for stuff, it’s basically just hanging out with friends, going to lunch or hanging by the pool. I have to check my softball schedule every time I plan something to make sure it will not be getting in the way of practice or a tournament.”

According to Indy.org, the most popular activities to do in the summer in Indiana are Indianapolis Indians minor league baseball games, RibAmerica festival, the Indianapolis Air Show, Indiana Fever basketball games, Concerts on the Lawn (The Lawn at White River State Park), and Symphony on the Prairie. All of these events will need to be planned for, and many of them require purchasing tickets in advance. Indy.org advises those interested in attending any of the listed activities to begin looking into them now in order to beat the rush of people.

The most popular event, according to Indy.org, is the Indiana State Fair. This year it will include concerts from Carrie Underwood, Daughtry and Sugarland. Students will not need to plan for the fair until the summer, closer to when it will actually be coming.

Although many students have begun looking at jobs for the summer, many of them are just waiting to see what the summer brings. For most, like Wendt, the summer means a break from school and a time to lay back, make some money and spend time with friends. For others like Vaughn, however, summer means a shift from a hectic school schedule to a hectic sports schedule.

“I would tell students to prioritize what they want to accomplish over the summer,” Stuelpe said. “Take things off the list that they don’t want to get done, and do only what they want to do.”

“This summer I plan to be working, hanging out with my friends, and maybe doing a little volunteer work but I don’t have anything really planned yet,” Wendt said. “I’m looking into a few concerts but I haven’t really started planning for that yet. I really just want to relax and enjoy my last summer here before I go off to college.”