The first time I walked into WJ I was in 8th grade and I was attending an advice column put on by seniors for incoming high schoolers. The seniors gave various pieces of advice, but they all agreed on one thing: get involved. Clubs, community service, sports teams, they stressed the importance of them all.
Now, after having gone through four years of high school, I completely agree. I’m so glad I was able to find things I like to be a part of, like The Pitch. This program has helped me grow in so many ways and the memories I’ve made are invaluable.
However, I have an edit to the advice I was given: get involved in things YOU want to do. If I could repeat high school there are things I would not do over again.
Instead of taking advanced history and social studies classes because everyone else was taking them, I would’ve taken tech and science classes that I was actually interested in. Instead of joining clubs because I thought colleges would like it, I would’ve started a club I was actually passionate about.
What I’m trying to say is, do what you want in high school, not what other people are doing or what you think colleges want. The point that you need to do something to get into college is stupid, because you should want to go to colleges that align with your interests and want you to explore your passions. So do what you want to do.
![Social studies teacher Timothy Rodman holds a production factory simulation in his AP Microeconomics class. "Students remember running for class president or the mock congress or the production factory much more so than learning topics like circular flow," Rodman said. "[The simulations make learning] very tangible and real and then students down the road are able to use it."](https://wjpitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IMG_4420-1200x675.jpg)
