By the time April and May is upon us, more than a few high school and college students long for the lazy, hazy days of summer break.  But once the thrill of being out of school is gone, and the luxury of having nothing pressing to do wears off, it’s amazing how quickly the boredom can set in.

To help you make the most of summer vacation—and best use this free time as a springboard to future educational opportunities and career possibilities—I’d like to suggest a little advance planning.

By adding the following four tasks to your summer to-do list, you can achieve a better balance between scheduled activities and spontaneous fun.  The result will be a more interesting, enjoyable and productive summer all around.

Task No. 1:  Turn an interest into a passion

Most people don’t discover what they are truly passionate about in a flash of insight.  Sometimes the most fascinating and rewarding elements of a pursuit only bubble to the surface after you have immersed yourself deeply in it.

So you owe it to yourself this summer to pay special attention to any areas of study or extracurricular activities that sparked interest or a measure of enjoyment during the school year.  You could sign up for a summer class at a local community college, attend a special summer camp, ask to shadow a professional in the field, or else set up a daily schedule to pursue this interest on your own.

The latter is what budding teenage painter Amanda Dunbar did when she made a deal with her parents to spend a summer exploring life as a professional artist.  When Amanda discovered she enjoyed her work so much that she often wanted to stay in the studio until the wee hours, her true passion revealed itself.  Now in her 20s, Dunbar’s paintings have become collector’s items.

Task No. 2:  Get a summer job that matters

Before you settle for just any summer job that can help you earn extra cash, consider seeking an opportunity that can also provide you with valuable experience, career exposure, and other educational benefits.

Many won’t be formal positions or ones posted in obvious places.  You probably will need to let your parents, family friends, teachers, activity advisers, school counselors and others know that you are looking for meaningful summer work.  Ask them if they could introduce you to any personal contacts who might have an opening.  Incidentally, this is good training for the networking skills you will need in the full-time job market.

You might even be able to “create” a job for yourself.  I did this as a high school student by asking the owners of a local tennis club if they could use some help writing, designing and publishing the club’s monthly newsletter.

After the summer money you earn from such a job is long gone, the knowledge you have acquired and the resume credentials you have gained will continue to pay big dividends.

Task No. 3:  Set aside time for service

Participating in a summer community service project can be a great way to get out of the house, make new friends and get active in a cause you care about.  It doesn’t hurt for college and scholarship applications, either.

If you are not quite sure where to start, check out websites like www.volunteermatch.org, www.servenet.org, www.dosomething.org and www.charityguide.org for listings of service projects in your area and ideas for individual projects.  If you’re someone who can’t get enough of the summer sun, find an outdoor service endeavor.

Alternately, you can simply call up a local charitable organization and volunteer.  After contacting the Meals on Wheels program in my community as a high school student, I had a great time delivering meals to area seniors and writing public service announcements that aired on the radio.

Task No. 4:  Transform a summer trip

With a little ingenuity, even a run-of-the-mill family vacation can lead to college admissions success and scholarship money.

Do you have any plans this summer to go camping, hit the hiking trails or do another outdoor activity?  Try creating an independent research project involving ecology, biology, or conservation.  Not only could the project be helpful material for a college application or essay, but you could also submit your project to scholarship programs like the Young Naturalist Awards (www.amnh.org/youngnaturalistawards) or the Intel Science Talent Search (www.societyforscience.org/sts).

Or, if you’re heading on a trip to a historically significant location, keep a journal and do a little research.  You will then be able to draw upon your notes and seize the competitive edge in history-themed scholarship contests sponsored by The American Legion (www.legion.org), the Veterans of Foreign Wars  (www.vfw.org) and the Sons of the American Revolution (www.sar.org).

Just want to curl up with a good book on your trip?  If you choose to read a novel by Ayn Rand (including “The Fountainhead,” “Anthem” or “Atlas Shrugged”) and later write a short essay on the book, you can vie for more than $80,000 in prizes from the Ayn Rand Institute (www.aynrand.org/contests). 

So what are you waiting for?