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Hi people! Today’s chapter is on extracurricular
activities. Some of you will already know the benefits of being
involved, and some may see it as a waste of time. Let me assure you
that there is great benefit in being involved in activities that
complement your education. Many of the advantages are listed below,
but be assured that employers really do care what you were involved
in, because these activities develop teamwork, leadership skills,
and they show that you have interests outside the job. Today’s
author is one of the most active students on her campus, and her
name is Sonya Beck.
Originally from Fairview, Oklahoma,
Sonya Beck earned a Bachelor's degree
in Marketing and a Master's in Business Administration from Oklahoma
State University. She was actively involved on campus, including
serving as Student Government Vice-President for two consecutive
years, being a member of Business Student Council, House Manager of
her social sorority, and Vice-President for Rotaract International.
She is a former Director of Advertising/Promotions for the Orange
Peel event and was Public Relations Director for the MBA
Association.
If you are like me, you started participating in
extracurricular activities because you wanted your picture to be on
more than one page of the high school yearbook or maybe it was
because a really cute guy or girl belonged. Most people don’t give
much thought to getting involved in school activities until they are
already hooked. The fact is that participation in extracurricular
activities is essential for your success in life. How can a few
meetings and a car wash totally change your life and how can you
become and stay involved? I will tell you how and give you some
steps for getting involved.
First, it is important to know why you should
participate in extracurricular activities. The abilities that you
master will help you throughout your life. I am a firm believer that
leaders are not born, they are made. Some people have a charisma for
dealing with people, but until you are in a situation that calls for
decision making and action, no one knows how they will react. If you
put yourself in a situation where you deal with these situations
frequently, you are going to get better at making the right
decisions all the time.
Not only do you develop leadership and
decision-making abilities, but you also increase your creativity,
your organizational skills, your management of time, and your people
skills. These are all important for anything that you do. For the
rest of your life, you will have to associate with different kinds
of people. You will have a family and a job vying for your time. You
will have to come up with new ways of doing things whether it is
driving a new route to work or designing a new building. Finally, to
be able to do all of these things, you must be able to organize your
life. I’m sorry to bring you into the "real world," but the fact is
that you must think ahead. These skills are not developed
overnight. You cannot wait until the last minute, so start now.
This leads to the next question. How do you get
started? I have some easy steps for you to follow:
STEP 1: You must
decide what your interests are. You don’t want to become a member of
the Math Club if you hate to add numbers together. You won’t be
committed to your organization if you are not truly interested in
what they are trying to accomplish. Sit down and make a list of
things you like to do in your spare time. Do you enjoy athletics,
politics, religion, community service? Now look at your list. Do
you have 20 items listed? Be careful not to overload yourself.
Remember, organizations are secondary activities to school.
Prioritize your list putting your favorite things at the top.
STEP 2: Find an
organization that fits your interests. If you are not already aware
of a club in your town, call someone who might know. Check with a
school counselor or secretary or maybe contact your community’s
Chamber of Commerce. They can all put you in touch with the
appropriate people.
STEP 3: Call the
contact person. Don’t be embarrassed or scared. Organizations are
always looking for new members. You will probably be welcomed with
open arms.
STEP 4: Get involved
in the organization from the beginning. Remember, the goal is to
have fun and develop skills. You can’t accomplish either of these
things if you don’t attend meetings. Try to earn a leadership
position. Don’t start with President. Instead, you should try to
learn as much as possible about the mission and goals of the
organization, so start with a lower office and work your way up. I
have always been told that it is much better to be a participant of
one organization than to be just a member of many.
STEP 5: Stay
involved. You have followed all the steps. You have learned a lot
about leadership. You have earned the respect of your peers. You
have graduated from high school. What now? Some of you will choose
to attend a university. It is crucial that you continue to remain
involved on that campus. Start over with Step 1 and work your way
through the steps. The good news is that you are not totally
starting from scratch. Those leadership skills that you developed in
high school advanced with you. There are actually more opportunities
to get involved on a university. At Oklahoma State, we have over 200
organizations and clubs. You can be a member of anything from the
Water Ski Club to Young Republicans or Young Democrats to the Music
Teachers Association. Don’t worry that you are one person out of
20,000 on the campus. When you get into an organization, you become
one out of 100. This is a great way to make a large campus become
smaller. It is also the best way to make new friends.
Those are my five steps to success, but what are
you trying to succeed at? Not only have you developed skills that
you will use throughout your life, but you have made a network of
people that will help you in your future, and you have made yourself
a very marketable individual. You never know when a former committee
member may need someone like you to fill an important job position.
Therefore, don’t let the committee members simply be acquaintances.
You should make an effort to make them friends and associates.
Finally, you have made yourself extremely marketable. Through the
experiences you have and the skills you have developed, you become
an asset to any employer. You can be taught many things from books;
however, you can only develop leadership through experience.
Besides, you get to have fun doing it along the way. It’s time to
get started, so Good Luck!!
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS FROM
LANCE
Those of you who are not currently involved in extracurricular
activities should strongly consider it. Those of you who are
involved, but not active (like being a member of a club and just
going to the meetings) should take an active role - volunteer for a
committee, help plan an upcoming event, etc. Those of you who are
involved and active, get more active - run for President, Treasurer,
or volunteer to coordinate your group’s next major project. The
point is to increase your involvement throughout high school and
into college. There really is an activity to suit everyone’s needs
and it will pay off in the end.
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