Leadership advice

[Hunter15]

Hello all,
I am currently a high school junior and I am just now starting to really look into the academies as a serious option. I always knew about the academies because my dad went to west point and at this point I could see myself at any of the academies. I really just wanted to come on hear and asked for advice in terms of my leadership positions I have held. Is this a good starting point for a junior in high school? What should I improve on? Are there any positions you suggest I should go for and try to get whether that be clubs, sports, etc? Would the academies take into account that I am going to go to 3 high schools in 3 different states when looking at my leadership positions? For my leadership so far, I was captain of the varsity football team, I have been selected as captain for the upcoming varsity baseball season, president of the Best Buddies club at my school (a club that joins special needs students and the rest of the student body in activities and bonding experiences), assistant manager of the pool I lifeguarded at, and a student government class representative for 10th and 11th grade. I go to a smaller sized high school on a military base so captain as a junior is very common, due to lack of senior participation and students who move away before senior year. Anything helps. Thank you!

 

[Old Enlisted Marine]

I think leadership looks strong, don't slack off as junior year is extremely important. Make sure your grades are all good and you are taking challenging classes like APs. As far as what high schools you attend USNA is very good at looking at schools and making their evaluations. What HS you attend is out of your control so only focus on what you can control like, leadership, grades, sports and behavior. Best of luck to you.

 

[Allectus]

Consider running for class officer—president. Look at the academies’ class profiles and see if there is any position listed that you might be able to obtain, for example yearbook editor. Good luck!

 

[justdoit19]

I think your leadership looks great! Especially considering your transitions to different high schools.

I personally would advise against adding just to add. Make sure you can speak to what you have done, as a leader, in your organizations. If a candidate has 20 ‘leadership’ positions listed? I question the quality of your time in them. Seems more like resume padding. I bet your USMA grad dad would have great insight!

One thing to keep in mind (bc of your comment about JR captaincy)….done ever make accommodations as to WHY you have it. Only use it as a strength. It’s a positive. Never a negative. No need to diminish your captaincy. ‘It’s me, bc we don’t have seniors’…vs….’I was selected as a junior’ are both true statements. One sounding as an accomplishment (which it IS), one sounding like they settled in choosing. Perhaps that wasn’t what you meant, apologies if so…but reading, that’s how it read to me. So be careful how you frame everything!!

Good luck to you!

 

[ProudMom7]

I agree with @justdoit19. You don't just want a list of leadership positions. In addition to WHY you wanted the position, what did you DO in those positions? How did you lead? What did you accomplish? Describe the impact you had while you were in that position. For the "upcoming" season, WHY did people select you for that position. Were you a great leader in past years when you weren't captain? did you assist the captain in past years by leading warmups, making sure equipment was always put away, etc...

 

[StPaulDad]

If a candidate has 20 ‘leadership’ positions listed I question the quality of your time in them. Seems more like resume padding.

Don't be afraid to join clubs that you are truly interested in. If you want to build sets with the theater kids or join the Spanish club then go do it, and you can even try to grab a leadership role, but understand how it could look to outsiders. There's a line to be walked here, but if you're aware of it and can say "I joined because my friends did and it was a blast" vs trying to portray it as star chamber stuff you'll probably be OK. As said above, if your dad went through this he'll likely be able to spot what looks sincere and what's a bit sketchy looking.

 

[Heatherg21]

Also, you have great essay fodder here with your multiple moves during high school. That's something that can disrupt kids and their success. If you have kept up your GPA and excelled while those moves occurred, you have resilience and can manage and handle change. Those are traits an officer must have.

As @justdoit19 said, don't diminish your accomplishments. Be confident. Don't explain away your role as captain.

As a junior, you don't really have time to add much anyway. Your club involvement with special needs students sounds awesome. Our son taught taekwondo to special needs students. I think he felt that they taught him more than he taught them. It was a great thing for him to discuss in essays and interviews.

One thing you said stood out to me. You can see yourself at any academy, my son could as well. The real question is what career can you see yourself in and what job would you want to do? They are very different. Do a deep dive on those aspects of each. Good luck to you, keep us posted.

 

[shiner]

The 3 schools in 3 years will be missed by some in a records review. My suggestion is to casually introduce it into some of your BGO interview and nomination board interview question responses. It is important to highlight and you can touch on how surprised you were to be welcomed by the new groups and viewed as a leader.

As others have mentioned, your resume is solid as-is. Focus on demonstrable actions you have taken as a leader in your groups. Be able to quantify your impact. Candidates who accept roles just to pad the resume look impressive at first glance but fail the smell test when an interviewer digs deeper. Be armed with great examples of what you did in your leadership roles. Your confidence, facts, and relevant examples will quickly demonstrate you are the real deal and worthy of a nom or appointment.

 

[OldRetSWO]

The 3 schools in 3 years will be missed by some in a records review. My suggestion is to casually introduce it into some of your BGO interview and nomination board interview question responses. It is important to highlight and you can touch on how surprised you were to be welcomed by the new groups and viewed as a leader.

I'd never miss that as it would probably be separate pieces of paper or pages of a pdf. Whenever I've had candidates who switched schools, it was very obvious PLUS they almost always point it out in essays that the MOCs require.