extra cirricular activities?

C

chesapeake20

5-Year Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Messages
9
I'm a sophmore in high school and play baseball and basketball for my school. I know I need leadership postions and other eca's but I don't know where to go from sports. Any advice is helpful.
 
Join ECAs that interest you. Or you can do activities outside of school, such as church, volunteer community organizations, scouting, etc.

Think about what, outside of sports, interests you. Is it music? Arts? Animals? Religion? Science? Journalism? And on and on.

The key is to find something about which you are passionate, or at least interested. And then find ways to make a difference in that organization. You don't necessarily need to be President of a club. You can create and organize an activity to show leadership.

It's really up to you.
 
Volunteer doing something relevant and that you enjoy. For example, if your goal is to do cyber security at the USAFA, volunteer at your local library or senior center teaching how to access and use computers, phones and other tech gadgets. Start a business doing consulting in something you are interesed in. Leadership is extremely important. Run for office at school, Be a leader at church or another group you might join. Be the team captain. Get good grades and you will be invited to groups like the honor society or Boys State. You want as many different bullet points as possible at the end of your junior year. This will look good on your CV, make it easy for others to easily write recommendation letters and give you interesting things to talk about during your various interviews. Good luck, you are smart to start early.
 
You want as many different bullet points as possible at the end of your junior year.
Click to expand...

The gist of rotcmom2016's post is correct and to amplify, your goal should not to be involved as many activities as possible. If I was reviewing a candidate file and saw they were involved in 10 ECAs, challenging curriculum, sports, etc. I would start to question how much quality goes into those ECAs. Rather, make the handful of ECAs valuable to yourself -- make an impact on what you do (leadership position or not).

rotcmom2016 gives some great ideas/hints. If your school doesn't have an ECA you enjoy...why not try and get one started (especially if many others are interested)?
 
ecs

It is true that you can't do too many things well. I was just trying to give several examples of how you could get ECs. From what I have observed through this process there seems to be emphasis in the areas of leadership, self motivation, physical fitness, grades, test scores, awards received, military interest, consistency, and the ability to articulate why you want a scholarship, appointment etc. There are many ways you can show these qualities through one EC.

For example a member of JROTC or CAP could start a PT team (if there isn't one) during his sophomore year. If he commanded the team through his senior year it would show interest in the military, physical fitness, leadership, initiative and consistency.

If you earn a good grade point you will be selected for National Honor Society. You need to volunteer for this club. If you volunteer teaching computers (as discussed in my original post) you get the necessary hours for NHS and you have community service on you CV. This shows you are a well rounded (whole person).

Like the last poster states don't do so many things that it looks like you just did them to check a box. The ECs you do choose should be done with the qualities the military is looking for in a scholar athlete. If you can check off more that one box (athlete vs. athlete, team captain, record holder/league champion, starting new team) you are getting more out of your EC and you can concentrate on doing well on the few you are doing. Again, good luck!

It would be nice if others could give examples of some, "Out of the box" ECs they have done that worked well and helped them with their goals.
 
rotcmom2016 said:
It is true that you can't do too many things well. I was just trying to give several examples of how you could get ECs. From what I have observed through this process there seems to be emphasis in the areas of leadership, self motivation, physical fitness, grades, test scores, awards received, military interest, consistency, and the ability to articulate why you want a scholarship, appointment etc. There are many ways you can show these qualities through one EC.

For example a member of JROTC or CAP could start a PT team (if there isn't one) during his sophomore year. If he commanded the team through his senior year it would show interest in the military, physical fitness, leadership, initiative and consistency.

If you earn a good grade point you will be selected for National Honor Society. You need to volunteer for this club. If you volunteer teaching computers (as discussed in my original post) you get the necessary hours for NHS and you have community service on you CV. This shows you are a well rounded (whole person).

Like the last poster states don't do so many things that it looks like you just did them to check a box. The ECs you do choose should be done with the qualities the military is looking for in a scholar athlete. If you can check off more that one box (athlete vs. athlete, team captain, record holder/league champion, starting new team) you are getting more out of your EC and you can concentrate on doing well on the few you are doing. Again, good luck!

It would be nice if others could give examples of some, "Out of the box" ECs they have done that worked well and helped them with their goals.
Click to expand...

DS became a volunteer firefighter in our town. It has turned out to be the best experience of his life...he didn't join in an effort to "build" his resume--it was something he thought he'd enjoy and gave it a shot. By far, it has had the most impact on his high school years. Giving back to the town, learning to work within a chain of command, physical labor...a perfect fit for him! The important thing is to find something YOU want to do and that will interest you--then it is FUN!
 
My daughter raised and trained a service puppy. She did it because she loves animals, but she got so much more in return. After training the puppy in our home for 11 months, she then had to give him up to his organization, but the pride she felt when she saw him aid his new owner, an 11 yo girl in a wheel chair, was immeasurable.
She was able to liken the entire process to training someone in the military.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top