Join Clubs for Enjoyment, Not College.

About a year ago, the roughly 40 members of Harriton’s Science Olympiad Team got an email from Mr. Gauvin—“From this point forward, the team will be traveling to competitions with all of those members who are at practice for a minimum of four hours per week.  And that time needs to be dedicated to Olympiad work, not outside projects such as homework.”

For the first time in the team’s existence, a mandatory minimum had to be put in place to ensure every member was pushing the team toward its full potential. Sad. Disappointing. But also telling of the growing trend of Harriton students toward joining clubs to pad résumés and college apps—kids who often prove undedicated to those activities.

It’s hard to see the problem inherent in having undedicated members of a club or team. Superficially, what’s the harm in occasionally having a few extra hands at a Harriton Service League event? Or an extra member of the Student Council, whose only contribution is donating food for Mr. Harriton concessions? Or even an ephemeral Science Olympiad member, who writes a practice Anatomy test in January only to fade away from the team?

The issue is one of culture. Each of those kids who shows up just enough to put HSL, Council, or Olympiad on their applications flaunts an easier path at members who, despite steady contributions over the course of a year, are no better than their uncommitted counterparts on paper. Their lassitude is often infectious, too; how often does it happen that one person puts down their shovel at a service project, and everyone in the area stops what they’re doing—or one kid playing Minecraft at a Science Olympiad practice becomes a table of gamers, who’ve set up shop away from the judging eyes of Mr. Gauvin. Building a culture of commitment and hard work is a long, painstaking process, but it only takes one or two slackers to destroy that culture from the inside.

Admittedly, not every kid who does something for their résumé hurts the club’s culture—but why do an activity that you don’t enjoy, when there are limitless ways to impress colleges? You can paint murals in the city, demonstrate chemistry to kids through Science Club, or run a basketball workshop for service hours. You can compete in Science Olympiad, on the baseball field, or in the Ping Pong club to show colleges your competitive edge. You can improvise a solo in the Jazz Ensemble, or sing your heart out in HTC to show your creative side. If no existing clubs interest you, you can start your own Magic Club or Aeronautics Club, and create your own culture within that organization. The opportunities to take part in something meaningful to you are numerous, and far more worthy of exploration than four painful hours a week at a Science Olympiad practice that you’re not interested in, or at an HTC rehearsal that you’re daydreaming through.

The pressure of college admissions so often brings out the worst in kids. So many of my friends joke about their willingness to sacrifice food, or technology, or a finger to be admitted to their first choice school. The stress is real, but shouldn’t push us into sacrificing time and happiness in clubs that give us little satisfaction—not only is it not worth it, but it’s unnecessary. For admission to college, and for four years of high school that you’ll remember fondly, commit yourself to what you love to do.