Junior Summer with an LO/Credit Analyst Intern Position - Seeking Advice

Hi everyone, 

I just wanted to get some advice and some direction on my current position. I currently work for a small private credit fund, and my main role is a mix between a loan originator and a credit analyst who does small commercial loans (usually between 500K - 1.5 Mil). I also work part-time as an LO for a residential lending company, though this role requires you to build a pipeline and source your own deals. As for my full-time job at the private credit fund, they have deals that the company sources. Though they aren't the best deals, and most of the time, it doesn't go into underwriting. I've talked to my co-worker, and he told me I basically have to source my own deals, as that's where he had the most success. 

I want to get into an acquisitions role or an asset management role at a PE firm, and I'm not sure how to best position myself for full-time recruiting next year. I tried recruiting for this summer with no luck (had a couple of interviews but didn't make it to the end). My plan was to go to conventions and network with as many people as I could, sourcing deals, asking for advice, and looking to do free work (to try and get some experience). I also thought about cold emailing small firms asking to do any type of work, though I'm not sure how to go about this, and any advice in this department is greatly appreciated. 

Aside from that, I've also done 2 project destination certificates, the fundamentals, and the private equity internship. I'm also participating in the Eastdil Secured real estate finance training program as well as completing the ACRE real estate course. I'm trying to do whatever I can to best position myself for next year, and if there's anything else you think I could do to help, that would also be greatly appreciated. 

FYI: My GPA isn't the greatest (3.1) but I plan to grind next year to try and boost that as much as I could.