Sophomore at a target school interested in S&T / commodities — how should I approach recruiting?

I’m a sophomore at a target undergrad trying to figure out the best way to position myself for trading recruiting, particularly commodities/energy, although I’m also open to broader S&T roles.

For context, I spent this past summer in a research-oriented role where I worked on an energy/infrastructure-related project involving data analysis. That experience pushed me much more toward markets and energy than traditional IB. I’ve since been networking pretty aggressively with people at trading desks, energy firms, and a few physical commodities shops.

Right now I’m trying to figure out how I should prioritize the next 12–18 months:

* How heavily should I focus on BB S&T versus physical commodities shops, energy merchants, exchanges, utilities, etc.?
* For someone interested specifically in natural gas/power, how important is having a recognizable BB internship versus getting directly relevant experience at a smaller trading shop?
* What should I be doing technically right now beyond following markets? Python, statistics, commodity fundamentals, trade pitches, etc.?
* If I land a smaller commodities/trading internship for sophomore summer, does that put me in a strong position for junior-summer BB/HF recruiting?
* How much does sophomore-year networking actually matter for junior-summer S&T recruiting?
* For people actually on desks, what separates the sophomores who successfully break into trading from everyone else blasting out coffee-chat emails?

Long-term, I’m much more interested in actually trading than using S&T as a stepping stone to something else, so I’m trying to optimize for becoming good at the job rather than just maximizing brand name.

Would appreciate advice from anyone who has recruited for S&T, commodities, or energy trading recently.