Get Involved
Build Skills. Explore Interests. Gain Experience.
Some of the most valuable learning in high school happens outside the classroom.
Activities, employment, volunteering, leadership, and career experiences give you opportunities to discover what interests you, build skills, meet new people, and learn more about yourself.
Getting involved can also strengthen college, scholarship, and job applications—but building an impressive résumé shouldn't be the only reason you participate.
Choose experiences that are meaningful to you.
Find What Interests You
You don't need to participate in everything.
Start by considering your interests, goals, schedule, and the opportunities available at your school and in your community.
You might explore:
- School clubs and organizations
- Athletics
- Music, theater, and the arts
- Student government
- Academic competitions
- Career and technical student organizations
- Community organizations
- Faith or cultural organizations
- Volunteer opportunities
- Part-time or summer employment
- Job shadows and internships
- Career-related programs
- Independent projects or hobbies
There's no single activity that's right for every student.
Connect Activities to Career Exploration
Getting involved is one way to test your interests before making bigger decisions about your future.
- Interested in healthcare? Volunteer in your community, join a health-related student organization, or explore a healthcare job shadow.
- Interested in business? Consider a part-time job, entrepreneurship program, business club, or leadership opportunity.
- Interested in technology? Explore coding, robotics, gaming, engineering, digital media, or technical programs.
Experiences can help you discover both what you enjoy and what you don't—and both are useful when you're planning your future.
Gain Real-World Experience
Work-based learning can give you a closer look at careers and workplaces.
Depending on what's available in your school or community, opportunities might include:
Job Shadows
Spend time observing someone working in a career you're considering.
Internships
Gain hands-on experience in a workplace over a longer period of time.
Career Mentoring
Learn from a professional who can share insight about a career or industry.
Career Fairs & Employer Events
Meet professionals and learn about occupations, industries, and education requirements.
Part-Time & Summer Jobs
Develop workplace skills while earning money and gaining experience.
Talk with your school counselor, work-based learning coordinator, teachers, employers, or community organizations about opportunities available to you.
Build Skills Employers Value
Your experiences outside the classroom can help you develop skills you'll use throughout your education and career.
These may include:
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Leadership
- Problem-solving
- Time management
- Organization
- Responsibility
- Initiative
- Adaptability
- Customer service
- Professionalism
- Reliability
Think about how you've used these skills, not just whether you've participated in an activity.
Instead of simply saying you were a club member, for example, you might be able to explain how you organized an event, worked with a team, solved a problem, managed a budget, or led a project.
Employment Counts
A job is involvement too.
Part-time and summer employment can help you:
- Build workplace skills
- Develop responsibility and independence
- Learn to work with customers and coworkers
- Explore industries and occupations
- Build professional references
- Earn money for future goals
You don't need a job that perfectly matches your future career for the experience to be valuable. Skills learned in one workplace can often transfer to many others.
Volunteer and Serve Your Community
Volunteering can introduce you to new people, organizations, causes, and career fields while allowing you to contribute to your community.
Look for opportunities connected to things you genuinely care about.
Meaningful service is more valuable than collecting volunteer hours simply to add a number to an application.
Look for Leadership Opportunities
Leadership doesn't always mean being president of a club or captain of a team.
You can demonstrate leadership by:
- Taking responsibility for a project
- Helping organize an event
- Mentoring another student
- Training a new employee
- Solving a problem
- Taking initiative
- Helping a group reach a goal
- Supporting your team or organization
Look for opportunities to contribute, grow, and take on additional responsibility.
Quality Over Quantity
A long list of activities isn't necessarily better than meaningful involvement in a few.
Consider:
- Do I enjoy this?
- Am I learning something?
- Am I developing skills?
- Am I contributing?
- Am I taking on greater responsibility over time?
- Does this help me explore an interest or goal?
- Can I balance this with school, work, family, and other responsibilities?
Choose a level of involvement you can manage successfully.
Keep Track of Your Experiences
As you participate in activities, employment, volunteering, leadership, and career experiences, keep a record of what you've done.
Include:
- Organization or employer
- Your role
- Dates of participation
- Approximate time commitment
- Responsibilities
- Leadership roles
- Accomplishments
- Skills developed
- Awards or recognition
This information can make it much easier to complete college, scholarship, and job applications or build a résumé later.
Make Your Experiences Part of Your Plan
Your high school experiences should complement your academic and career planning.
As you build and review your four-year plan, think beyond the classes you want to take. Consider the experiences you want to have, the skills you want to build, and the careers you want to explore.
