Whether you are about to start applying to colleges for the fall or you are just starting high school and want to become more involved, choosing to join a student organization is always a great one. By joining a student organization, there are a lot of benefits that can be gained. Even though it can be a lot to balance between classes, your social life, and more, it is still something worth investing some time in for the long term gains and experience. This is something that can directly impact your career as well as who you develop into as a person. These are 12 of the main benefits that you can enjoy when you decide to join a student organization.
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1. You Get a Chance to Develop Soft Skills
When you are part of a student organization, there are many soft skills that are developed along the way. These people skills include things like work ethic, communication with team members, and a positive attitude. These are important because they are things that employers are going to look for later as an essential component of the right hire. When you are part of a student organization, you get to learn a wide variety of these valuable skills and you also get to improve upon some of the skills you may already have. Additionally, you will gain emotional intelligence through your communication with various individuals and within groups. developing these skills and new relationships will take you far in life and are essential for success.
2. You Will Learn About Who You Are
Joining a student organization provides you with ample opportunities to learn about who you are. You will get the opportunity to find out what you like to do, develop your own personal goals, and work on your strengths. You will get a chance to test your current knowledge of a subject as well as gain the opportunity to grow within the organization. You will quickly find out what you like and what you do not like through various organizations. High school is the time to begin exploring different student organizations so you can find out what interests you and what drives you forward. You will also learn more about the skills you have and what you like to do with them. You will quickly learn if you can multitask, if you are good at brainstorming, and more. By gaining this self-awareness, you will be more confident moving towards college and your eventual career.
3. You Will Learn How to Work Within a Team
Within student organizations, you will have a lot of opportunity to work within a team. This is an important skill to learn because you will undoubtedly need this skill both in college as well as in your career. You will be placed in situations where you will need to rely on others in your student organization and they will rely on you. This is very similar to how many jobs and classes in college will work. It is a good idea to learn how to do this in a student organization because you will have the opportunity to be successful and make mistakes in a space where there are not many consequences.
4. You Will Learn in a Safe Environment
As briefly mentioned before, you will have the opportunity to learn and experiment in a safe environment. Within a student organization, making mistakes is something that is perfectly fine and is expected. There are lots of people that will be there to support you along the way and you will not be scared of messing up or being wrong in the process. This safe environment will allow you to do more and learn more about your skills as well as test your limits without any backlash from a “boss” or “manager.”
5. You Can Use Skills Learned in Class
There are a multitude of things that you are learning in class and there are usually some conversations revolving around when that information will be used in life. When you join a student organization, you will be able to use these leaned skills in a real world situation. By being able to apply classroom experience in your work through a student organization, you will get to learn what works and what does not in real time. This will help you with your current studies as well as in the future. With your current studies, you will better understand concepts and will have real examples of situations to remember them. As a result, you may even earn better grades in the classes you are taking.
6. You Will Learn to Work With a Diverse Group of Individuals
There is a good likelihood that you will get the chance to work with people that are not like yourself in terms of skill set, goals, and even background. You will find the same thing in both college as well as in any job that you take. Because this is something that mimics the real world, it is something that is important to learn sooner rather than later. You will get the opportunity to see how people react to different things and you will also be exposed to different ways of thinking. This is an opportunity that will allow you to expand your mind and will benefit you for years to come. You will also get the chance to work with people of varying cultural backgrounds in some organizations. This is also something that will help you grow as a person as well as learn to become more respectable and aware of your every day actions.
7. Your College Application Will Stand Out
This is one of the reasons that many people decide to join a student organization while they are in high school and while it is not the only benefit, it is one that helps student achieve another goal of getting into college. When the application committee is looking at the thousands of applications that are submitted for a college, they are looking for students that not only have good grades but also have a well-rounded application. Joining a student organization or two and being actively involved is one of the main components that they are looking for to show diversity in experience. Many high schoolers will not have work experience to add to their application but their involvement in a student organization can be something that mimics work ethic. For students looking to get into a great school, joining a student organization is a must.
8. It Can Help You in Your Job Search
It is not just something that will benefit you when applying to college. It is also something that can help your resume stand out when you are applying for a job. Whether you are looking for a part time job to earn a bit of cash or you are looking for your first job out of college, showing that you have been working hard in a capacity that has provided you with essential job skills will help you have a better chance of getting hired. This is even more true if you were very involved in your student organization, you will have plenty of examples of situations where you excelled and had the opportunity to learn something. That means that this experience not only looks great on your resume but it will also be great for discussion during an interview.
9. You May Have Leadership Opportunities
One of the great things about joining a student organization is that you will likely have an opportunity to take on a leadership role. This is beneficial because in a job, this will not happen as quickly. Getting an opportunity to take on a leadership role will provide you with a lot of experience and responsibility that you may not have the chance to gain for many years to come. You will learn about how to manage different people or projects as well as how to effectively motivate people within the student organization. Additionally, taking on a leadership role can tell you if you even like being in leadership. You may find that being the leader of an organization or a project is not ideal for your, which is fine as well. It is also good to learn this while in high school and college before you get into your full time job and then find that leadership is not something you are passionate about or good at. This is the perfect time to find out if leadership may eventually be a goal of yours for your career.
10. You Will Learn to Network
Depending on the size of the school that you are attending, you likely do not know everyone in the student body and maybe not even all of the teachers. Joining a student organization will provide you with the opportunity to meet new students who have the same interests as you and you can help each other in high school and beyond as we a result. You will get the opportunity to make new friends and connections, which can be invaluable when you are looking for your first job out of college. If you join a student organization early on in your high school career, you will get the opportunity to develop deep relationships that can stand the test of time. Beyond being able to connect with other students, you will also get the chance to work with teachers that you may not have had contact with otherwise. You will be able to learn from them in a variety of situations and you will also get the opportunity to develop a relationship with them. When it is time to start applying to colleges, they may be a great resource for a recommendation and they can help advise you on the process and finding a major and school that meets your interests.
11. You Will Have To Work on Time Management
You will inevitably get the opportunity to focus on time management when you join a student organization. It can be difficult to manage your classes, your social life, and your extracurricular activities. However, life is a giant balancing act and taking the time to learn how to effectively manage your time now will be something that you benefit from throughout your entire life. You will be forced to make time management a priority when you join a student organization. If you ignore it, then your grades will likely suffer. In order to be a part of the organization, you will need to show that you can manage your time and balance all aspects of your life. It is better to learn it now rather than later when a paying job is on the line. Take advantage of this benefit by diving in and finding out what works best for you in terms of time management.
12. You Will Have Fun
One of the best benefits of joining a student organization is getting the chance to have fun doing something that you like to do. The time will pass by quickly and you will have fun with every passing moment. If you are not having fun within the organization, that is a sure sign that you are in the wrong organization and that is ok. When you find the right one, you will be having a lot of fun and you will not have to work as hard to excel within the group. Experimentation is part of the process and you should keep trying different things until you find the one that brings you enjoyment. When you do, the other students that are in the organization will become some of your closest friends and will be there for you every step of the way. You will get the opportunity to make new memories with these people and you will remember them and the experience for many years to come as some of the best times of your life.
References
- http://www.bentley.edu/prepared/12-reasons-why-you-should-join-student-organization
- https://www.collegeraptor.com/find-colleges/articles/student-life/5-reasons-join-student-organization/
- http://www.zencollegelife.com/top-10-reasons-to-join-clubsorganizations/
- https://www.thebalance.com/top-soft-skills-2063721
- https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/team-working.html
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/lyndashaw/2016/03/20/7-ways-to-handle-diversity/#e88e28d6e9ae
- https://www.huffingtonpost.com/marjorie-hansen-shaevitz/extra-curricular-activities-college-admission_b_3040217.html
- https://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/time-management
