Looking back on my freshman year, I can remember walking with a chipper yet nervous stride into the GDS club fair, which bustled with stands and people like a lively marketplace. Like most freshmen, I signed up for a myriad of clubs, cautiously scrawling my email, my phone number and my commitment to as many meetings as I could handle. From that year on, I have had one regret: not taking the fullest advantage of student organizations I signed up for.
When most of your classes exclusively consist of other freshmen, to be active in clubs dominated by older students is a daunting experience. Most freshmen get their first experiences with any student organization at the club fair, hosted several weeks into the school year, when other grades have already established long-standing social networks and extracurricular routines.
In high school, Quizbowl has been my primary extracurricular activity, yet in my freshman year, I was hesitant to join. Watching my predecessors in Quizbowl allowed me to learn the importance of leadership. Leadership during your freshman year can mean encouraging students or being someone club heads can rely on. Life doesn’t come with instructions, nor does leading a club. Leading a group forces you to learn about yourself, and through leadership, you develop agency over how your decisions influence others and yourself.
When you hear of upperclassman club heads pushing through late-night meetings or working tirelessly to plan events and trips, know that they aren’t merely working to show off to colleges. They are working for a passion and community larger than themselves. The club heads have grown to make mature, responsible decisions and are prepared to grapple with the real world. To be like the leaders of GDS clubs, you, underclassmen, must follow in their footsteps.
My freshman year, I joined a plethora of clubs, including History Bowl, It’s Academic and Student Voices, and wanted to pursue even more, such as robotics and the outdoors club. As the year progressed, I felt it was difficult to improve in all of my extracurriculars, so I invested more time into Quizbowl. I showed up to every meeting on time and engaged with my peers and by the end of my sophomore year, I became a co-captain. I think I did well at managing my time, but I still feel I could have pushed myself more and been more active in clubs.
During my time in Quizbowl, I became friends with upperclassmen who showed me it was possible to manage a plethora of activities and be academically successful. For the most part, we upperclassmen are nice people who will try to make the underclassmen feel comfortable and accepted. We have experienced more of high school, and if you reach out to us, you can likely make fulfilling, long-lasting friendships.
Colleges and internships are aware of the struggle and growth that goes into leadership. These organizations have seen many applicants with countless titles, positions and awards. Hiring and admission teams want people who have communication and collaboration skills, regardless of whether the applicants have achieved official leadership positions. Showing commitment and a will to learn, getting to know upperclass leaders and showing self-reliance should be strong focuses of freshman year if you want to gain a foothold in the clubs you are a part of.
Asserting yourself in unfamiliar spaces like high school clubs is integral to your interpersonal and academic development. Even if you are nervous in the strange atmosphere of a club, taking on leadership one step at a time will lead you to the essential personal growth requisite for adulthood. I would start small: talk with upperclassmen and get to know them. If you can find allies, you are more likely to have the confidence to assert yourself and will rely less on fellow freshmen. Don’t be afraid to join a lot of clubs at the club fair and then, later, choose which clubs to focus on depending on what you enjoy. Have fun while being strategic; those who can balance both will be set for success.