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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.
Imagine going from "I guess I’ll be a doctor" to flipping Africa’s farming system… and helping women become business bosses along the way. This one’s not your average save-the-world story.It’s scrappy. It’s real.And it’s dripping with lessons you can steal. Got a burning question? I’m all ears. Stuck on a startup idea? Wondering how to use AI without sounding like a robot? Trying to figure out what actually matters after high school? Every week, I hear from teens building cool things, chasing...
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You’re a teen trying to start something this summer... maybe a design hustle, a content page, a community project. So you reach out to people.Clients. Mentors. Collabs.But no one replies to your DMs. Why? Because you’re asking for trust without proof. And that’s the trap: “You need experience to get experience."But no one wants to be your first “test run. Got a burning question? I’m all ears. Stuck on a startup idea? Wondering how to use AI without sounding like a robot? Trying to figure out...