Extracurricular Activities and Networking by Cole

Extracurricular Activities and Networking by Cole - October 2015 Scholarship Essay

Strong academic achievements on paper cannot represent an individual’s soft skills or strengths. Academics give us the tools to gain knowledge and subject matter expertise that matches our interests. There are arguments that students in the modern education system are taught to take tests. There is some truth to that, as there are exceedingly larger pools of qualified candidates applying for colleges than there are spaces available.

Extracurricular activities provide stronger evidence to a person’s character, including a willingness to work for a specific outcome and how the individual co-exists in a team environment. These are also elements to how a person fits within the community or as a contributing member of society. Extracurricular activities can span any realm outside of school academics, it can be in different forms, such as sports, music, volunteer or paid work. These experiences elevate a person beyond any rote testing or academics, these activities enable individuals to differentiate themselves and allow the person to grow from the experiences that cannot be measured monetarily or by test scores.

If a recent college graduate has no prior job experience and is unwilling to “work for free”, rejecting internships and volunteer opportunities, it’s probably not realistic for that graduate to believe a dream job opportunity will present itself. If a college graduate has volunteer experience, that lends itself to having a network or support system to draw from in order to look for job opportunities in the future. The same applies to individuals who play in an orchestra or a team sport, there is a personal network of people and friends, who share similar interests and could have information for future job prospects.

There are more advantages that benefit an individual and the groups of individuals sharing the same interests over an individual who does not partake in any extracurricular activities. The personal growth from the experience is not measurable in value but has intrinsic personal value for every individual. The networking aspect that comes from extracurricular activities naturally emerge from the individual’s willingness to do the extra work for a shared interest or cause. For these reasons, extracurricular activities should be required in high school because they provide more real-world experience that will also complement academic study.