If you want to be a well-rounded student, you should consider adding extracurricular activities to your lifestyle. Excelling in school is more than just going to class and achieving good grades; it is being able to handle class, work, and other activities without overwhelming yourself.
No matter what your interests are, there are activities, clubs and organizations you can join. Every school is filled with a wide variety of things for students to engage in. It's activities such as these that can get you more involved and are great for acquiring leadership experience.
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Types of Extracurricular Activities
Whether you are the science geek or the football captain, there is a club for you to join.
- Sports: The most popular types of activities are sports organizations. Most schools have football, baseball, tennis, basketball, and track. Some schools have even more to choose from. There are also cheerleading groups for these sports as well.
- Clubs: Each school has different clubs that you can join. They of course vary by school but some popular ones are the poetry club, writing club, current events club, theater club, and even clubs related to subjects such as math club, accounting club, science club, etc. If your school does not offer a specific club that you may be interested in, you can always follow the steps to start one on your own.
- Organizations: Consider joining different organizations such as the school newspaper or the yearbook staff. Some minorities even have organizations such as the Black Student Union or the Hispanic Club.
- Go Greek: Of course, you can pledge to a sorority or fraternity when going to college as well. Most schools will have something called a “freshman rush” where students can pledge to join the Greek organization of their choice.
Benefits of Extracurricular Activities
By joining clubs and organizations, you are setting the stage for your future. You are learning how to multitask, which is an important asset in the workplace. It also looks great on your resume if you can show your potential employers that you not only were involved in different activities at school, but you maintained your grades as well and possibly even worked a part-time job. Just be sure not to overwhelm yourself or stress yourself out with too many obligations.
Benefits of Playing Intramural Sports in College
- Helps reduce stress.
- Takes your mind off of other things like work, tests, etc.
- Good way to meet new people and make new friends.
- Exercise; it’s good for the body.
- Playing sports or doing an activity can be a great confidence builder.
- It’s just plain fun: There’s nothing like playing your favorite sport with your friends.
It’s a fact that everyone has to study, but joining the intramural program helps students balance things out between work and play.
Be a Leader
Instead of just joining a club or organization, why not start one? You will gain leadership experience by doing something you love to do. You will also make the school look better by adding more variety to their extracurricular programs. Best of all, when you graduate, you will already have the leadership and organizational experience on your resume that a lot of entry-level professionals strive for.
By becoming more active within your school and joining clubs you will not only be learning more things, but you will gain multitasking experience, fill your time with something more constructive than partying and meet new people who share the same interests as you, which is extremely important as a student.