“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
— F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
The pace of work and life mercifully slows in summer making it an ideal time to think, reflect, plan, and experience. As champions of liberal education, we might add that it’s also a great time to “begin over again” with the arts and sciences in your own life. Here are some suggestions from the National Arts & Sciences Initiative team to make your summer full of wander.
Cultivate Curiosity
Roam the aisles of your local library or favorite used bookstore to break out of your current reading pattern or suggested algorithms. Selections from Phi Beta Kappa’s summer reading list might also pique your interest (coming July 2019). The Society’s Key Conversations podcast, Enlightning Talks videos, and The American Scholar’s Smarty Pants podcast can all inspire mindful journeys. You can spend time with interesting new people from a wide variety of backgrounds via your local Phi Beta Kappa association. Find book clubs, young professionals events, and cultural activities in a city near you at pbk.org.
Navigate Your Career
Whether you just graduated or are established in your career, discover resources to grow your connections with other ΦBK members in exciting fields and industries. Add Phi Beta Kappa to your LinkedIn profile to connect with leading minds from 290 top colleges and universities across the country. Follow #PBKCareerCorner on Twitter for timely advice, job opportunities, and mentoring specifically curated for arts and sciences graduates. Our resource center at pbk.org/KeyIntoYourCareer can help new grads find purpose at work. Feeling a little too settled? We also offer mid-career tips to reflect, reframe, and relearn. Already an expert? Mentoring can help you build connections to next-gen professionals with different skill sets.
Build Community Connections
Help grow audiences for the arts, humanities, natural sciences, mathematics, and social sciences in your town or city by attending and giving support to a local cultural organization. You will find some inspiring examples from our Cities of Distinction events (pbk.org/cities). Join a citizen science community project to experiment for a good cause, volunteer to read great books to an older adult at a local nursing home, or organize an August school supply drive for students in need.
Once you feel reinvigorated from your summer wanderings, please consider taking some easy steps to promote the value of quality arts and sciences experiences at toolkit.pbk.org. Summer, after all, is never the time to take a vacation from arts and sciences advocacy.