Find the Best Space to Stretch Yourself: How to Navigate Your School's Club Fair
It’s a new school year, and that means spreading your wings and trying something different. The perfect place to begin is at your school student activities fair. It may seem scary, but joining one of these groups could change the course of your high school career, help you discover what your true passion is, and introduce you to lifelong friends along the way.
But, where to start? If you have an amateur interest and are looking to delve deeper into a subject area, chances are, there is a place to get involved. Have you ever thought you might want to try your hand at something, but aren't sure where to start? Clubs are great for that, too. For example, Avon Old Farms — the historic CT private boarding school for boys— offers anything from arts to robotics to forestry. The school's extensive list of student clubs has a wide range of topics covered and ensures a home for the pros and the novices alike. A few of Avon Old Farms' notable clubs are:
- Environmental
- Meditation
- Astronomy
- Fly Fishing
- Insvestments
- Robotics
- Outreach
- Digital Photography
Before stepping foot into the hubbub of your student fair, take a few moments to prep yourself with strategic intent.
Know your strengths.
What makes you strong can be a powerful guiding force as you maneuver through the tables of your school's club force. Follow your passions; explore what you love; capitalize on what you can already do well. Are you a people person? Consider running for student government. Do you write poetry on the weekends? Apply for a staff job on the literary magazine.
However, if you only pursue what you know you're good at in life, you could miss out on valuable opportunities to flourish in new ways. Know what makes you awesome, but don't let your strengths limit you from exploring new avenues of growth. In your discomfort of being vulnerable to areas you don't easily excel in, you can propel yourself to your next area of growth.
Write down where you see yourself at the end of the year.
This is your chance to grow in immeasurable ways: formulate a picture of a you that has elevated to a new place of experience and write down what that looks like before entering your fair. You may be well acquainted with the parts of you that make you excel, but get it touch with how you want to expand too. Are there areas in your life where you want to grow? For example, if you've been thinking that it would be good for you to spend more time outdoors this year, chronicle yourself in a role where you spend time doing things like hiking, gardening, or fishing. For instance, Avon Old Farms offers a club where students can tend one of our bee hives, and in the process contribute to the sustainability of our planet.
Now, as you enter the mass of booths and bustling activity of your classmates trying to find a good club fit, you won't be distracted by the voices around you. You'll already know your mission and will find yourself navigating to the clubs that will help you grow in the best way.
Actions are more important than titles.
As you stroll through the aisles of your school's different club offerings, it can be easy to get sidetracked by the pomp of fancy titles. For example, even if you aren’t the captain of the varsity lacrosse team, you could be its leading scorer. You may not be the paper’s editor-in-chief, but you can write award-winning articles. Your commitment and achievement in a given activity are far more important than your title.
If you've already taken an inventory of your strengths and written down how you want to stretch yourself, you should be able to breeze past the allure of owning a title. The important outcome of your tenure in whatever club you end up choosing is experience that will launch you to your next goal.
Resist the urge to pad your resume.
Don’t join a club or team merely to fluff up your extracurricular profile. It’s important to choose activities that genuinely interest you—otherwise, you risk boring yourself and making a feeble contribution to the organization.
Key Takeaway
Wherever you land, remember that being a part of a club has advantages from every side. Build community (or as we say at this New England high school for boys- the "Brotherhood"), develop a skill, and add something special to your college app all at the same time - just don't forget to have some fun!
About the Author
Senior Marketing and Communications Project Manager