Rising to Leadership in High School
Students will have the opportunity to explore a variety of clubs, organizations, and sports in high school. As they progress to grades 11 and 12, it’s expected they will “rise” to leadership in at least one, but preferably a few, areas. When applying to universities and colleges, especially more selective institutions, admissions officers and committees will evaluate an applicant based on the breadth (variety) of activities they pursue, as well as the depth of involvement for each. And where there is depth of involvement in an activity, that is where they look for examples of leadership. This begs the question: How can a high school student become a leader and what does that look like?
Here are a few tips to accomplish this:
1. Explore, explore, and explore some more to find areas of strength and interest.
Grade 9 and early in grade 10 are the ideal times for students to see all that is available at their school, in their communities, and beyond. They should attend information fairs for clubs, ask older classmates about their involvement, and most importantly, try out experiences for themselves. They should attend meetings or events of clubs that seem interesting, volunteer for local non-profits making a difference in their community and think about the subjects they enjoy and what could be unique ways to show strength through competitions, contests, or research.
2. Know when to let go of some activities.
This is by far the hardest part for high school students once they get toward the end of grade 10. Admissions officers know that students cannot dedicate all their time to every activity, so while the quantity of activities may remain high, the quality of their involvement lessens. Students can’t do every single activity they might want to do well, and by the end of grade 10, they should be identifying their core involvement areas and begin planning how they can make bigger impacts in the final two years of high school.
3. Recognize that leadership can take many forms.
Many students make the mistake of assuming leadership only consists of being president of the student council, founder of a school club, or captain of a sports team. Although these areas do demonstrate leadership, there are other ways for students to show they have developed leadership skills. For example, someone who starts their own side business sewing sustainable clothing, or an athlete who creates a mentorship program for younger athletes in their community, or a musician who partners with a local music therapist to host events bridging the worlds of music and therapy-all show leadership.
4. Seize opportunities to become a leader.
Students should not wait for someone to recommend they run for a leadership position or expect that leadership will naturally come their way. They must look for opportunities, and if that doesn’t work, they should create their experiences that open the door to becoming a leader.
