Jumpstarting Extracurriculars

High school is a place for students to continue their education and further explore their interests. Many schools offer a variety of extracurriculars that students can take part in, from academics to the arts to athletics. With summer gone, students are now settling into the new school year (albeit, an unusual one). Most schools offer club fairs or have online social media pages for extracurriculars that students can look forward to. This is a great way for students to not only see what extracurriculars are offered, but find out what the club does and ways to get involved. Despite Covid, most schools are continuing to offer clubs and activities virtually. Speech and Debate leagues have gone virtually very successfully. Even art, music, and theater, have transitioned meaningfully, holding performances online. This is still a time to engage and be creative, not just stand back.

 

Freshmen and Sophomores

New to highs school, there are an endless number of extracurriculars for freshman and sophomore students to explore. The first two years of high school is really about finding out students’ interests and establishing their  high school careers. Every year, typically either right before school starts or right when school starts, students have the opportunity to attend a club fair.

Students are greatly encouraged to go because not only do they see every club, team and activity available, they can even join the club on the spot. If students find themselves unsure of which club to join, they should sign up for every club they have interest in. When signing up for clubs at a club fair, the most students have to do is put their name and email on a contact list. This way when the club actually does start meetings, students can be notified of when and where the meeting will take place. The club fair is a great place to get information from upperclassmen about extracurriculars. Freshmen and even sophomores shouldn’t shy away from asking questions about what events a club might hold and what to expect from joining that club. Also, chances are if the club has a social media page, they will tell the students to follow the page. This is another great way to see what events they have held in the past and what to expect in the following year.

As the school year begins and clubs begin to hold general meetings and informational meetings, curious students should attend these meetings. This is where the club board members will introduce themselves and explain how the club runs. Students shouldn’t be afraid that attending one information meeting means that they are committed to this club. These are information meetings that are meant for everyone to attend to gage their interest.

While it is great if a student has tons of interests and finds a lot of extracurricular activities they want to partake in, it is important to remember that committing to an extracurricular activity can be time consuming. Students should be aware of how time consuming being in a club or on a team can be. As important as it is, it should not interfere with the student’s school performance.

Students are free and strongly encouraged to join as  many extracurriculars as they want. Especially as an underclassmen, it can be hard to choose what to do. However, if students have an idea of what field they would like to pursue in the future, it would be to their advantage to align their academic interests with one or two extracurriculars. Even if they aren’t sure of the field they are interested in, it doesn’t hurt to try and see what works for them

Freshmen and sophomores should take advantage of the time to explore before they enter the intense years of Honor/AP classes and college admissions process of junior and senior years.  While they take the time to  figure out what they like, they can slowly begin to narrow down what they want to commit to for the rest of their high school years. 

 

Juniors and Seniors

By the time students are juniors and seniors,  they’ve most likely already started to narrow down what extracurriculars they want to focus their time on. If not, they should consider dropping clubs that they don’t enjoy and don’t have the time for. As students start preparing for college applications, they should keep in mind the benefits of having a leadership position on their resume. Clubs and teams are a great place to find leadership positions.

It’s important for students to stay active throughout the years with the extracurriculars that they chose to pursue. Students can show their commitment to the club by attending events hosted by the club and taking advantage of opportunities that may be offered. How active a student is can become an important factor for when they apply for a leadership position.

Students should not only strive to obtain a leadership position, but also focus on trying to make an impact. Even if a student isn’t the president of a club, as long as they have made a significant contribution, it still shows leadership. For example, recruiting more people to come join the club, proposing a new idea to the club members, making a difference in the community, or taking initiative with fundraising. Oftentimes, impact could be more meaningful than a leadership title.

If a school doesn’t offer a certain club or team, students are strongly encouraged to take initiative and start one. It’s a great way to show leadership and they get to pursue their interest. Students should take the opportunity to explore as many interests as possible when they are in high school. Extracurriculars that students partake in can greatly shape the person they become throughout their high school career and it is a way for students to destress from the stress of school and express themselves.

When narrowing the extracurriculars down, juniors and seniors should narrow down their extracurriculars to at most two or three. One of the activities should be related to the career or major that the student wants to pursue while the other is for their own genuine interests.

In terms of looking at extracurriculars for college applications, it is believed colleges want students who are well-rounded, meaning involved in many activities. However, the reality is that colleges aren’t looking for those students. Yes, they want a well rounded student body at their campus, but rather than having each student excelling at every subject, they are looking for individuals who excel in their own specific area, creating a well rounded student body as a whole.

This means colleges are looking for students with specific passions, whether it be athletics, literature, or the arts. Colleges don’t care what students are passionate about, but do want to see that the student has a passion and did something with it. Extracurriculars are supposed to be a reflection of the student. Doing extracurriculars because it’ll “look good” on their resume is a waste of time that could go into better things. Students shouldn’t focus on what might look good on a resume, but focus on what they are genuinely interested in. The admissions officers can usually tell if the student truly cares about that activity. Students are most likely going to be dedicating a lot of their time to whatever they do, they should dedicate time to what they genuinely want to pursue. After all, colleges love passionate students with demonstrated track record because they are the ones who will go on to make an impact in the world. 

 

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