Clubs, Sports, and Volunteering! Oh my!

Hey kiddies! So as you've learned through my other blog posts, a lot of high school is challenging classes, balancing your schedule, and standardized exams (unfortunately), but a lot of it is also being able to participate in any and all clubs or volunteering programs you may be interested in. This is a way to meet lots of new people outside your group of friends, and make connections with other students and teachers that could last you all through your high school years.

We're very fortunate that at Mater there are dozens of clubs on a wide variety of interests, and if there's a club you'd like to participate in that doesn't exist, you can get approval and create it! Being in clubs offers an opportunity to learn new things, and you can move up the ladder over the years to gain a leadership role within the club (which looks especially impressive on college applications, as you will soon learn). I will be completely honest: being an officer in a club takes a lot of time and devotion, but I think reaping the fruits of your labor is completely worth it.

Sports are the one activity in high school I never tried (my lack of hand-eye coordinating is truly appalling). I do have friends who did participate in them over the years and the one piece of advice they have to give is to make sure to manage your time wisely, because sports will surely take up a lot of it. This, of course, is another way to create unbreakable bonds with your peers, while also staying in tip-top shape. Not a bad deal, folks.

Volunteering!! One of my favorite activities! I think the feeling of giving back is unlike any other, and the smiles of people's faces when they thank you for the work you've done is priceless. I think this activity is one of those that's very flexible because there are so many opportunities for this in our community and you can easily start your own program. For example, I reached out to a local school the summer before my junior year and created a French class which I gave two summers in a row; this volunteering program went on to be one of my favorite things I've done in high school. You can start volunteering and logging your hours for your work this summer!! If you are interested in a particular project, be sure to speak with me, your class mentor, or your teachers to help guide you.

There you have it, folks- one of the BEST parts about high school (and the best part is you have complete and utter freedom and deciding what you’d like to participate in). Get excited!

All the best,

Laura