Amp up your extracurricular engagement

Jynn: Each person you meet and every experience you encounter is a potential lesson to learn from.

1. Join associations, clubs and societies

These include student government associations, scholars’ associations, and student media and publication organisations. These organisations will give you an avenue to develop your leadership skills and expand your network.

There’s also a club for anything and everything. Join those that are directly related to your interests, and you will soon make new friends with similar interests while doing the things you love.

You may even take one step further by joining organisations outside of your institution of learning. These organisations will allow you to participate in civic initiatives, environmental action, and all kinds of conferences, as well as offer collaboration opportunities with industry leaders.

2. Look out for opport

unities online

With the world becoming digital, it is now more crucial than ever to make full use of online platforms to look for opportunities.

Look out on social media sites for any clubs, societies or organisations that interest you, and find out more about them and their initiatives.

Most of these organisations would be active on their social media pages, so you can easily stay up to date on their newest activities. Reach out to them. Utilise your online searching skills and keep discovering!

3. Put yourself out there

The most important step to getting involved in extracurricular activities is to get yourself out there. You will not get anywhere without taking the first step. It may be daunting to dip your toe in the water, but take things slow and go at a pace you are comfortable with.

Have confidence in yourself and do not be afraid to approach new people. Each person you meet and every experience you encounter is a potential lesson to learn from. – By JYNN KOK E-LYNN

Jynn, 20, is a participant of the BRATs Young Journalist Programme run by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) team. Throughout the year-long programme, participants aged between 14 and 22 from all across the country experience life as journalists, contributing ideas, conducting interviews, and completing writing assignments. They get to earn bylines, attend workshops, and extend their social networks. To join Star-NiE’s online youth community, go to facebook.com/niebrats.