Each of us has a unique vision of success, but what is common between each of these visions is that success is emotionally renewing and delivers a sense of legitimacy and importance. The time spent by students at school is important for their knowledge acquisition, as well as for their social and emotional development. As such, high school students must understand and develop their unique definition of success and work towards becoming the best version of themselves.
Long-term accomplishment is a function of both tangible and intangible skills. A successful experience in high school is not only about report cards; high school students should harness their time and resources to understand themselves, become intellectually curious, and identify their unique voice.
Identify what makes a high schooler unique
Out of 60,000 students who apply to Harvard every year only 3.19% are accepted. This highlights the question each high school student must ask themselves: “what is my human brand?” This will help the student answer what they bring to the table that no one else does. Once they have answered this question, they can develop a blueprint for translating ideas into tangible output, thereby creating value. External guidance may be sought to help the student tap into their true potential.
Extracurricular profile development
There is enough scientific research pointing to the benefits of extracurricular activities in a student’s overall development. Through extracurricular activities, a student may build confidence, develop team spirit, and cultivate resilience. For instance, the resilience that one may inculcate from learning a musical instrument can enhance one’s ability to tackle challenging concepts in the classroom.
Students may also consider undertaking projects as extracurricular activities to accentuate their human brand and showcase their intellectual potential.
Essential life skill building
Besides strengthening their core competencies, students must seek opportunities to foster basic life skills. Building practical life skills will help them transition to college, thus becoming competent and independent young adults. As starters, the focus should be on problem-solving, communication, time management, and money management. Moreover, skills such as diligence, warmth, and humility, if developed at early ages, can go a long way!
Do internships
Pursuing internships reflects how a student has gone out of their comfort zone. Internships can also assist students to identify if they like or dislike a particular field. This can eventually help them make conscious choices about the educational path they want to follow post-school. Internships also provide myriad opportunities for high schoolers to hone life skills such as problem-solving, oral and written communication, leadership, and networking, among others.
Seek mentorship
High schoolers may consider seeking mentorship as role models and positive influences can make a significant difference in their lives. Mentorship is believed to result in greater interpersonal skills and higher self-esteem. While identifying a mentor for a high school student, one must ensure that the mentor possesses skills that are valuable to the mentee, as each student has specific needs and a unique set of talents and abilities.
About the author: Poshak Agrawal, Co-founder, Athena Education: Mr Agarwal graduated from DPS R.K. Puram, where he graduated in the top 1% of his class and served as President of the Mathematics Society. In 11th grade, he was the only student from India to get into the Stanford SUMaC summer program on a full scholarship, which helped him to also receive a 100% scholarship from Stanford and Princeton. At Princeton, he was the Co-President of the Princeton Entrepreneurship Club.
