Extracurricular Activities.

Hi everyone,

I would like to start off this post by giving a huge shout out to newly acquired San Francisco Giant Randy Johnson on getting his 300th win as a Major League Starting Pitcher.  This milestone achievement, which demonstrates the qualities of dedication, humility, and excellence, is a perfect starting point to talk about getting involved in extracurricular activities.

In high school, I was involved in many ways; I was our Associated Student Body President, I played piano in the Jazz Band, I played Varsity Tennis, I was a Peer Helper, and more.  These communities were invaluable experiences for me, giving me friends and memories that I will keep for life.  You get out of high school only as much as you put in.

I believe that colleges are looking for well-rounded students that have a developed interest in some type of extracurricular activity.  These activities tell about someone’s character and give them personality beyond what just SAT scores and grades do.

That being said, I don’t think colleges are looking for the type of student who was involved in everything just for the sake of being involved.  These college admissions people are human.  They don’t want you getting involved in activities just to help you get into college–that’s not what it’s all about.  Here are three tips for getting involved in extracurricular activities that will provide you with the most meaningful experiences in high school and might even work wonders for you during the college admissions process.

1. Be Dedicated- it is important to show dedication to an extracurricular activity, to see out the long term goals of the program and to fully invest your time in what the program has to offer.  This way, you will become connected in community and build strong friendships in a community dedicated toward some goal.

2. Be Humble- it’s important to keep a humble, serve-first, others-centered mindset in the things you do.  Through this mentality, you can best serve the needs of the group, making you a great team member.  By lifting the whole group up, you will be elevated to where you want to be.  Additionally, this will prevent you from being arrogant, a characteristic that nobody likes.

3. Strive for Excellence- you always should try to do your very best and put the work in necessary to set yourself up for success.  With the belief and positive attitude to achieve your goals, anything is possible.

Randy Johnson exemplifies the characteristics of dedication, humility, and excellence, and doing so has contributed to his incredible success.  Randy put in the time, kept his focus on his teammates, and ultimately became a member of a historic and elite 300 win club.

Whether you use these tips while participating in sports, music, a club, yearbook, student government, or anything else, the characteristics of dedication, humility, and excellence will help all of you to achieve great things.  I hope that this provides some helpful insight!

Peace,

Tyler =)