College Freshman Seeking Advice on Buy-Side

Hi Monkeys,

I'm aware there are tons of discussions out there with advice for people like me but I'm just trying to get some personalized advice. I'm currently a freshman at a non-target state school with its business school being T25 in the country. I'm currently interested in getting into the buy-side, specifically things like S&T, ER, and hedge funds. Not sold on IB, but not opposed to it either.

Some background about myself: I'm not coming straight out of high school having served in the army in my home country, which has given me more time to figure out what I'm really interested in pursuing and some time to prepare for it. Not only that, but I've gotten some solid work and leadership experience, being the foreign equivalent of a sergeant. Work in the army is tough, long, and draining, which seems to be the case in high finance so I'm already accustomed to shitty hours and WLB. Most importantly, being a sergeant taught me how to work with and manage people. This past summer I've found myself with more free time, so I began studying for the SIE which I'm going to take some time this month. I also am going to do the Bloomberg Markets Concepts which will help get involved with my school's student run fund. I know that certifications aren't something that I should spend a lot of time on and isn't something thats going to make a recruiter go crazy over me, but its just something nice to have and I've learned some basic stuff. I did also do a short VC stint in high school. Nothing crazy or impressive, but it did expose me to the industry a bit. I'm also planning to major in finance and minor in statistics.

My primary concern right now are internships. I know that freshman don't really get great internship opportunities so I'm just hoping to do something somewhat related. This leads me to my first question: what should I try to do this summer given my interest in the buy-side? Otherwise, I have been doing a lot of forum reading and other advice seems to be pretty standardized: prioritize GPA, get involved on campus, and most importantly network. Is there anything else I am missing? Any advice would greatly appreciated and I would happy to connect with anyone.

Thanks!