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Extracurriculars that landed him in Stanford
The world is noisy. You are constantly being bombarded with information about education, career and achieving success. If I could go back in time, the strategy below is what I’d tell young me to use to start “my thing,” and begin to leave my mark on the world. Most of you think that you will stand out and land your dream college, company by having a packed resume, straight As and lots of standard leadership positions (president of X, head of Y etc) Truth is admissions and even hiring manager doesn’t reward raw intelligence (sorry, school has lied to you…again) Getting all As in your AP classes will not guarantee you a spot at that research internship or at your dream college. Here’s the fun part: it’s not about working harder & being smarter. So what matters then? Getting into selective opportunities is about being uniquely impressive by creating VALUE in your community. By VALUE, I mean REAL product/service with USERS – not just another school club. See how his project amplified his interests (engineering + medicine = healthcare tech) and showcased his unique SKILL SET, which made him stand out from other candidates? Ofcourse your value adding activity is not limited to engineering projects. For example, if you’re an athlete who loves to write, you might combine these interests by finding a niche in sports journalism, such as starting a column for your high school newspaper. Or, if you’re a musician with a passion for helping your community, you could teach music lessons to children at your community center. If I was in school right now, I’d worry less about accolades for my resume & more about skills that I’ve built. I’d tell myself to start measuring the impact of my initiatives often. There’s no greater valuable lesson than learning, so I’d do more of that. Then watch the opportunities pour in. Lena |
Tinkering with OCE
Subscribe to OCE's weekly newsletter on tech, business and higher education...curated for the ambitious youth.
I believe we are entering an economic inflection point. Not with tanks or drones — but with policies, debt, and trade flows that will shape your future more than any classroom ever will. You don’t get to sit this one out.If you live in a country, use its roads, drink its water, and dream about your future in it — you carry a responsibility: To understand the rules of the game shaping your future. And right now, one of the biggest and most controversial battlegrounds is tariffs. Here's how it...
After crossing six figures, here are the things I wish I knew when I started... But FIRST If you are new, welcome to OCE’s weekly newsletter curated for the ambitious youth…here are some articles you missed from previous weeks: 📈 Why No One Successful Wants to Mentor You Read More → 🎨 Best tools for building your passion project Read More → 📘 The Future Belongs to Borderless Thinkers Read More → No one wants to cold call — that’s why you should do it. Figure out how to build without a lot of...
They don’t tell you this part about building a business. They’ll tell you how to “collaborate.”How to “be a team player.”How “partnerships” are built on trust and shared vision. That's cute. What they don’t tell you is that business relationships are a constant dance of territory.Everyone’s testing boundaries.Everyone’s pushing.And if you’re not grounded, someone else’s vision will quietly swallow yours. I learned this the hard way—working with multiple partners and clients, trying to juggle...