Internships

By Sol Skelton

Internships can be valuable experience, especially in fields where an entry level job is completely inaccessible to high schoolers. Colleges recognize this, and will see your internship experience as not only an academic boost-- for example, a lab internship will teach you things that a class cannot-- but as a sign that you are committed to working in your field. 

Internships are a way of getting work experience before you are able to get an actual job. As an intern, you will be an assistant to a working professional. Internships are a way, not only of getting to know the field you’re thinking of entering, but of making professional connections. You may be able to get a letter of recommendation from your employer, and if you use your time as an intern well, you will be able to talk to other people in your department or workplace,  for future internships or projects. Internships can vary widely in their time commitment, but are often pretty demanding as extracurriculars go. As an intern, you are an employee, and will be expected to perform as one. Internships are not a place where you can get away with half-effort. Don’t be intimidated, though-- employers understand that you are a teenager and won’t throw you into the deep end.

In NYC, it’s surprisingly common to find paid internships for high schoolers. For some people, unpaid internships are just as valuable as paid, and there are definitely some unpaid internships that are entirely unique, but if you are looking to make money, paid internships are a great way to do so.

My Experience

My experience as an intern is pretty specific to me, as most internships are. I was a spring 2020 intern with the Met, working in the social media department. Unfortunately, my internship was cut short by coronavirus, and I never got the full intern experience. 

How do you get an internship? Simple. Apply. And if you don’t get one, apply again. I got my internship on my second application. My first application was poured over by friends, parents, anyone who I could find to make sure it was perfect. My second was proofread by myself alone. While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this approach, I would say it is far more important to make your application true to you than it is to be perfectly written. Anybody can write a beautiful, grammatically correct paragraph. You have to write a description of yourself that is wholly unique to you and makes whoever reads your application actually want to work with you. 

I also had an internship-like position at the Museum of Modern Art. The process of getting into this program was wildly different: students from the summer studio art class “In the Making” were selected to be interviewed for the school-year “Cross Museum Collective.” For this kind of opportunity, all I can suggest is that you pursue any and all opportunities that genuinely interest you. I applied for the art class because I loved the premise, and I was selected from it because that love shined through in the work I did and my interactions with my instructors. 

Pick things you love, give them your all, and your effort will be visible to those who work with you and to those who decide to admit you. 

Jobs

By Ismail Abalo

Whether it is for the money or for the love of it, most of us end up going through that stage during high school where we simultaneously balance a job and our school life. Here’s some tips on how to make sure you stay on top of both.

First things first: It is not the easiest thing to have a job and also be as efficient as possible with school work. However, once you find that sweet spot, maintaining a job this early in life is possibly the most beneficial thing that you can do with your extra time. 

Personally, I worked as a coach for my former middle school’s debate team throughout all 4 years of high school. At first, managing the new work load on both sides was tough and this subsequently led to a lot of catching up. Some of you may have jobs that are less taxing than mine and others may have jobs that are more high-maintenance. I would say that it took about six months into freshman year to find a schedule that worked for me. Yes, a schedule. Trust me, I was one of those students that never used my planner and only did work whenever I had the energy to. After stumbling through the first couple months of highschool, I decided to curate my own personalized schedule and it really helped me keep some structure to my days. 

Of course, no one is perfect and there will be days that you fall behind or miss something important. For times like that, do not beat yourself up about time that you may have wasted. Just find ways to maximize the time that you have left. The goal is to always stay on track but there are always obstacles and unexpected events that get in the way of that. Try your best to remain consistent and soon enough, you won’t need to look at your schedule anymore. 

Another extremely important aspect of balancing school and a job is communication. I can not stress this enough. You need to keep your boss in the loop. They understand that your main priority is school and in most scenarios, they will give you some leeway if you communicate to them that you need to take care of things on the academic side. You can not expect your employer to know that you have 3 tests this week or that there is a one time afterschool event that you don’t want to miss. So make sure you talk to them and tell them things with time in advance. 

My Experience

For me, having a job was my single best decision of highschool. I was doing something that I loved and growing alongside a community that helped me significantly when I was younger. Not only did it help me mature and manage my time much better, but it also helped to keep me centered. Whenever I felt like things were spiralling out of control, I always knew I had a tight-knit community that I could rely on. I was willing to make some sacrifices for that. It also helped with the college process tremendously. Due to the many things that my job taught me, I was able to incorporate it into my college essay and it came up as a talking point during many interviews. In addition to that, it helped me as a student as my attitude when it came to work transferred into the classroom as well. With that being said, if you have a job opportunity during your years in highschool, do not be too quick to write it off as something that will keep you from doing your best at school. It can easily have the opposite effect.

Sports

By Suzuki Lin

You might be thinking of adding to your high school experience by participating in sports. Whether it be soccer, hockey, or bowling, participating in a sport long term shows colleges that you are committed, hardworking, and cooperative. Depending on the school you go to and what sport you’re interested in, the time you have to contribute may vary. Your school might hold a club fair for the freshmen and this is a good time to ask about how much of your life the sport will take up and what equipment (if any) you have to get for yourself. This is important to consider because adapting to a new school is challenging enough without having your after school hours taken up by long practices and games. However, overcoming this challenge throughout your time in high school is what helps you stand out among your peers. 

Your school will most likely have a Junior Varsity/Varsity system for some of the “bigger” sports like basketball and football. In a big school, there will be many people who want to try out for sports, and those who make it will most likely end up on the Junior Varsity team (unless you’re a hotshot like Bronny James). This is not a bad thing because many schools have a Junior Varsity league for the JV teams to have their own games and competitions. Usually, in your Junior year, you will move to the varsity team, in which you play official games. 

Trying out for a sport may be nerve-wracking because many people have their eyes on you. Some things I would advise would be reminding yourself that the older kids have been where you are and the coaches don’t expect you to be an amazing player yet: they are looking for potential. One thing that I always tell incoming freshmen and sophomores at my school is that it doesn’t matter if you think you’re talented or not, as long as you put in the time, the skill and confidence will follow. 

My Experience

Sports take up a lot of my life during the school year and this is mostly because my coach has nothing better to do but to practice in a hot gym with his teams. Every season, I do a different sport: in the fall I bowl competitively (I know that sounds really lame but it’s actually pretty fun), in the winter I play basketball, and in the spring I play softball. Almost  every day there is school, I have some sort of practice. My mom always made comments about me getting home too late because of my long commute and how I didn’t have enough time to do work. Because of her comments and my own doubts, I started to question whether or not I was prioritizing my time. I felt like I didn’t have time for volunteering or other clubs I was interested in that would make my application look better. Balancing sports and school can definitely get intense and overwhelming sometimes but in hindsight, I think that it was worth it because I learned to manage my time better and it pushed me to become the competitive and strong person I am today. Even if you never thought of playing a sport, I think you should try out anyway because I believe high school sports are an experience that everyone can take something away from. You don’t have to be good; be yourself and be consistent.

Activities

By Brianna Clarke

There are lots of extracurricular activities around school outside of clubs and sports. They may be supervised by a teacher, but typically involve upperclassmen taking the helm in leading their peers and make for a much more comfortable learning environment than class, even while they require some commitment. There are countless potential activities, but here I will discuss debate, a common option.

Debate is an intense but extremely rewarding activity. There is no try-out required and sometimes it is even taught as a class. The debate sphere is intensely political and far beyond anything that high schoolers are expected or taught to understand. The topics of debate normally have to do with governments and remain relevant in life as well as for classes. There are various formats, but the main debate formats (Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, and Public Forum) all use a series of speeches in which one team will affirm whatever the debate topic proposes for the first speech and the other team will negate. There are national and local tournaments and different levels at which to debate within each tournament: novice, junior varsity, and varsity.

Debate does require a commitment to research on top of academics. There is a lot of reading and drilling involved for speaking and note-taking skills. Usually it results in some proficiency in those skills just by the nature of being thrown into the activity. Tournaments give awards for individual debaters and for finalists. Speaker awards are for individual debaters based off their performances in preliminary rounds. After 4-6 preliminary rounds, a winner is determined in each activity and skill-level.

My Experience

I was encouraged to join debate because of my proclivity to argue in history class and I do not know the person I would have become if I had not done so. The competitions can feel overwhelming in the beginning and were especially scary for me personally, but what I gained in knowledge and consciousness from the debate space has remained with me and informs my political as well as my socio-emotional outlook. The debate space definitely veers toward the radical left in terms of literature, content, and the critical interactions of a debate round, even more so in recent years. The exceptions for this are Novice Lincoln-Douglas and essentially all of Public Forum. I feel the benefits of debate in my other classes as well. In my International Relations class, I was already fluent in IR jargon and theory. In my African-American History and Literature class, I was fluent in some of the more complex sociological theories introduced. In history class, I can call every president an imperialist and cite evidence fluidly. I have since joined two critical theory book clubs, the second an extension of a political party.

Volunteering

By AnnaBelle Medina

Volunteering is one of the easiest ways to get involved in your community, whether your purpose is to build your resume or help out (or both!). Many schools have volunteering hour requirements which students must fulfill in order to graduate, however, you would have to check with your school’s principal or guidance counselors. Volunteering is extremely accessible: often you do not have to pay to volunteer, and in many cases you can go as infrequently/frequently as you’d like. Almost all neighborhoods have places for high school students to volunteer: libraries, elementary schools, local sports teams, local markets, summer camps, etc., which are all places you can search up or contact to find opportunities. However, volunteering does not also have to be local. We live in NYC, a city with countless opportunities to explore all of your interests, which means we have access to buses and trains that allow you to travel to volunteer. 

Finding places to volunteer at is actually quite simple. For one, many schools have lists with links to places to volunteer that are accessible on their website or by asking a guidance counselor. Additionally, you can find a lot of resources by asking your peers about places they know/have volunteered, or by surfing the internet. The internet is a really helpful way to find opportunities, especially if you want to find a place to volunteer that serves a specific purpose. For example, if you particularly want to volunteer to help feed the homeless, you could search up “Soup kitchen volunteer NYC,” making sure to use keywords that demonstrate what you are looking for, even if it does not make total grammatical sense. Once you have found a place that you are interested in volunteering at, make sure to check their website to see their policies to become a volunteer, or even shoot them an email or call to ask for more information. Keep in mind that since we are under 18, many places might require your guardian(s) to fill out a form that grants you permission to work with them.

My Experience

Personally, volunteering is one of my favorite ways to help out in the ways I can. Not only is it good for the people you are helping, it is also extremely fulfilling and can make you feel like you’re really making a difference… because you are! Around my community, I occasionally volunteer with the Riverdale YMHA in my community as a volunteer counselor for the after school program at P.S. 24. Additionally, when P.S. 24 holds events, such as their Halloween-themed “Boo Bash,” I like to volunteer to set up, work at stations, and clean up.  I also like to explore more than just my community by volunteering with places around the city, such as Citymeals on Wheels at the 5th Avenue Presbyterian Church, the GOOD+ Foundation near 34th Street, etc. My favorite part is that I’m able to meet new people and explore NYC while helping others and expanding my own perception of the world.

Clubs

By Monay Ledbetter

Welcome to the club section! So what are clubs? It’s quite simple, clubs are extracurricular classes that schools provide for the students. These clubs can  range from sport clubs to recreational activities and everything in between. Since you are entering highschool, you may wonder; Well how do I join these clubs? Schools will more often than not have sign up sheets around the school where you can easily sign up to the club that interests you the most. If you're not really sure what you want to join, there are usually upperclassmen to help guide you and find your interest. Now, it is important to keep in mind that consistency is key! You want to choose a club that you will most likely  continue with throughout the rest of your highschool life. Now, college may seem like forever away and something you may not be focused on when first entering highschool. However, it is very appealing to colleges when they see a student that has been dedicated to a club. Colleges want to not only see that you are a well rounded student with a high GPA, but a dedicated person that has hobbies and is able to commit to something. They want to see a student with depth! They want to see an intricate student! Some clubs may have certain requirements to get in. These clubs usually differ from school to school, but these clubs typically hold prestige. A prime example of this can include clubs that teachers pick you for, such as a history club. Teachers would need to see dedication in their class so they feel moved to pick you. As you may have guessed, of course this looks impressive to colleges, but again it's the consistency that drives it home!

My Experience

I am currently a Junior in high school and with this I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want to do and explore in college. Personally, I would love to study criminal law in college. Law has also caught my attention and as a kid I have always been passionate about debate. Thankfully,  I attend The Brooklyn Latin School where we have a law program that connects us to real lawyers and allows us to debate with other schools around New York City. This club has allowed me to explore what it would hopefully be like in college. It also allowed me to see if law was something I truly wanted to pursue. 

Student Activism

By Megan Ortiz

As a high school student things can feel out of your control whether inside of school or outside of school. Especially, when you have knowledge of issues but don’t have an idea on how to reach a solution. Student activism is a great way to advocate and help reach those solutions. Student activism is a very broad term, there are many forms of student activism some of which being, protesting, signing petitions, outside events or programs, or community building. Time commitment wise, it really does depend on what you choose to do something like signing petitions doesn't take much time but clubs or planning events do take up more time. It’s important to remember that any action does help and it’s also important to do as much as you can. First you should figure out the issue or issues you are passionate about and look into current actions being taken that you can help in. Another thing is looking into what hasn’t been done and trying it, like starting a club or petitions. Through activism, you can learn a lot about your issue but also learn a lot of team working skills. In terms of college, colleges do like seeing outspoken students and students that do extracurricular activities. 

My Experience

When I first started high school, I did feel powerless with certain events taking place outside of school and just not feeling heard. I did all I could in my power to raise awareness about environmental, social, and political issues which was typically just talking to people and attending protests. But I still wanted to do more, so one of my friends told me about outside events and I started to spend a lot of my time researching environmental issues. Which allowed me to educate more people and also help set up a protest. My advice is to always keep and eye out for events and programs that interest you but also remember that any little bit counts like having conversations with people but also it’s important to do as much as you can. You’re never too young to make a change and you can always do more than what you think.

Student Government

By Aisha Baiocchi

Student government is a really cool way to get involved with your school itself. Most of us have heard of it before, maybe in our middle school or even on TV, as a glorified popularity contest. After becoming more involved in my school over the years, I learned there is a lot more to it.

It really varies from school to school, but if you want to find out what your student government is responsible for I suggest you look for your school’s constitution or whatever other documents they have that lays out the rules. At most schools student government will be in charge of school events, like dances and homecoming. They’ll also typically play a large role in fundraising, clubs, and school trips. Some things are completely out of the jurisdiction of student government (like curriculum) and if you want to get involved, make sure you know what those things are. 

The positions themselves can vary, but I suggest getting into student government if you think you have skills that will benefit the school and really want to help create some positive change. Like any elected office or extracurricular, colleges will look at it, but it’s always very apparent when students do activities just for their application. Do what interests you!

My Experience

I’ve run for student government positions twice. The first time wasn’t that serious, but the second time, when I ran this year, I really wanted to win. COVID and everything that had happened recently had really gotten me thinking about the change I wanted to see at my school, and for a second, while campaigning, it seemed like I might be able to make that happen. I’m not upset that I lost, but I wish I had felt motivated to run earlier. Experience really does matter for these kinds of things, and even though I had a vision for my school and an excellent running mate, lacking experience hurt our campaign a lot.

I’ve always liked leadership roles and wanted to create change, but when I first got to my school I felt so out of place and alone, I didn’t run. I’m not sure if I would’ve won if I ran earlier, but I know I wanted to and I wish I tried. Learn from my mistakes! If you think you’re interested in student government, don’t hold yourself back! It’s a lot easier to get involved early than late.

Resume Building

By Ramatoulaye Bah

Building your resume is one of the most important skills to learn throughout your high school career and it will take you far in the real world as well. For those of you who may not know what a resume is, it’s a written formatted record of your accomplishments, education, work experience, extracurriculars, awards, certain skills you may have, as well as some basic information about yourself. Whether it is  applying to a job or certain programs you need an excellent resume so employers and admissions offices get a better understanding of who you are and what you can offer.

 It is important to make yourself seem a little better than you actually are, not by lying of course but by using other techniques such as sophisticated vocabulary words.  Instead of simply stating that you helped to watch kids you can instead say that you “supervised them in their learning environment.” Here’s a good resource to find resume “boosting” words: https://tips.uark.edu/blooms-taxonomy-verb-chart/ 

 Now as a freshman you don’t necessarily have to have enough to fill an entire resume but it’s something to keep in mind throughout your highschool career. It’s important to keep a list of everything you have done outside of just the regular school day whether it be clubs, internships, sports etc and in turn when it comes time to actually create your resume you will be more than ready. You should also try to organize your interests and find out what you’re passionate about because though it's definitely great to have a lot of things on your resume, it's even better to have things that you actually care about. For example, if you happen to be really into saving the environment you should pursue activities related to that. Remember that it’s okay to try new things and no one really has everything figured out and as long as you do activities that make you happy, your resume will turn out to be an amazing representation of who you are as a student. 

My Experience

In my own experience, even before high school I knew I was interested in working with kids and things related to the humanities.as a result many things I have allocated my time to outside of school hours have been in relation to that. Things such as an internship tutoring soccer players, and an internship at the NYCLU working on activist projects are examples of things that caught my eye. By choosing things that I’m already interested in, I find my extracurriculars to be both rewarding and helpful in building my character. Building a resume for me was a process that took a bit of time as I never learned to keep track of my extracurriculars and skills so I had to remember things I had done from years past. However I did make a preliminary one with some of the activities that were fresh in my mind and as I remembered things I simply added them because I had a template to start with. What I did realize was that some parts of it were a little empty and this helped shift my focus to other extracurriculars to fill those sections of my resume. Nowadays I have a pretty well-rounded resume and by taking the time to find out who you are and choosing activities that make you happy and that you relate to, you can as well.