Teens have to be reached at an early age because it’ll give them a chance to evaluate and manage the knowledge that has been given to them, process it, and decide if it fits into the plan they have for their life. High school students feel a sense of adulthood in school, since high school has the option of different classes, and the variety of those classes can have a student wonder how college life will be for them. The high school experience, and the pondering that comes with it, begins this responsibility.

Though, when a student enters high school, the first thing that has to be done is the actual work!

This is a step to mature adulthood, and making teens at the high school level aware of the work required to reach their ambitions is a starting point, not a goal line. Since they are mature enough to understand the process and young enough to begin the process of everything becoming a habit, hard work instilled now will be invaluable later on in college and beyond.

When teens are reached early, in an engaging, intellectual way in high school, then they’ll be prepared as they begin their journey to more than just work later in life.

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Contributed by Tyler Dickerson

Passionate about public health and medicine, but not sure where to start? Here are five ways that you can get involved now!

VOLUNTEER:

One of the most important and easiest ways to gain experience in the medical field while in high school is to volunteer, specifically at a local hospital or medical center. Not only will you be giving back to your community, but you will also be gaining important experience. Whether you are helping at a front desk or cheering up a patient, you will learn a lot. Ryan Mohamadi, a current high school student, earns his volunteer hours by helping at his local hospital. He started as early as his freshman year, and has enjoyed doing it ever since. He has learned a lot about a hospital’s functions and daily rhythms. “My job is more of helping check in patients, diffuse any situations…, and helping give supplies to each department” says Ryan. His favorite part about volunteering? “[M]eeting new people and helping others who need help.” Volunteering is the perfect way to build your experience and help your community.

SUMMER PROGRAMS:

Some research centers and colleges offer special summer programs specifically for high school students! Different colleges offer short summer courses to give you a taste of what the academic side of the medical field is like. Some programs even let you take part in research and do activities that simulate real-life medical careers. Think of them like short internships. If there is a program near you, this is a great way to learn more about the medical field and decide if it is the fit for you.

JOB SHADOW:

Becoming a “shadow” is one of the best ways to see if the medical field is for you. You will quickly learn a lot. While it may seem like an unpaid internship, it is more than worth the time. Priya Jain, who is studying to become a doctor, says that she gained invaluable experience through shadowing. During her first summer helping in high school, she aided in an ER hospital, and she got to see first-hand that the medical field, while not always the easiest career, is the most fulfilling. During one particular moment, Priya said “that was one of the moments that solidified my desire to pursue medicine because I saw how hard the doctors worked and how they didn’t give up until the end.” You will get to watch and possibly even help with all kinds of things. Even if you feel inexperienced, sometimes the best way to learn is to help where you can, learning from your role models.

RAISE AWARENESS:

Obviously if you want to go into the medical field, health and well-being are things you care about. So help others care about them, too! Get involved in a health school club. Or partner with organizations like the Red Cross! The Red Cross offers several ways for teens to get involved. Help with a blood drive; join their National Youth Council; help with the wide variety of events and fundraisers that the Red Cross sets up. Even though getting involved in activities like this is not specifically an internship, it helps build your passion for the field, and it is good experience to mention on applications.

VOLUNTEER (INTERNATIONALLY!):

Not only can you volunteer locally, you can also help people on the international-level! For instance, Global Leadership Adventures offers programs specifically for those passionate about public health. From helping build health centers to working personally with the local people, you will have an amazing experience and help others in a big way. So whether it is Bali, Dominican Republic, Ghana, or Haiti, no matter where you choose to go, it will be an unforgettable summer.

So what’s the best thing that you can do to have a high school medical internship -like experience? “My best tip of advice is really just to get as much experience in the field as you can and know that you really enjoy the area of study,” says Priya. So what are you waiting for? Get a head start on what you are passionate about and let us know your story in the comments below!

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Contributed by Addie Davis

As a high school student, you may be finding yourself becoming more and more interested in volunteering to benefit your community, the planet, or even various charities. Perhaps you were introduced through great organizations like the Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts, and now you’re just itching to do more. Well, there’s certainly plenty to choose from.

Here are six different volunteer efforts you can engage in to better our world or mankind.

Soup Kitchen

Volunteering at your local soup kitchen can be a quick and easy way to get your feet wet in volunteering. Doing anything from serving the food to cooking it, you can certainly find a way to be helpful without requiring any special skills that can’t be learned on the job.

If you don’t know where one is or how to get involved, start out with a quick Google search of “soup kitchen (your city’s name)”. Many of them have websites where you can get in touch with them and schedule a time to go and help out for a couple hours. You can also contact your local church or religious community. Often, these communities have ties to local volunteering organizations.

Give Blood and Save Lives

It seems like something that’s so simple. Your school might even run its own Red Cross blood drive. Maybe you passed it up because you hate needles or just couldn’t be bothered with it. However, the fact of the matter is that your blood can save a lot of innocent lives. From accident victims to shootings to disease, blood transfusions save countless lives per year.

With something that’s so easy to do, why not get out there and do it? It only takes a small amount of your time and is completely free. If you don’t have the time to do anything else, you can at least give an hour or so of your time to perhaps save someone’s life. Contact your local blood bank or check out the Red Cross website to see where and when you can go give blood.

Go Abroad

If it’s summer vacation and you’ve got time to burn, consider taking a trip abroad to volunteer in a foreign country. An organization can hook you up with an opportunity to assist with a wide range of things in a developing country. You could find yourself doing anything from helping at a wildlife sanctuary to teaching kids how to surf in Africa or even teaching your native language to eager students. You can choose whatever you’d like to do.

Granted, these trips aren’t free, but they aren’t expensive relative to a vacation either. You’re also getting a lot of bang for your buck, with traveler’s insurance, lodging, and 3 meals a day often provided. Maybe take some of that money you’ve been saving up from your part-time job or ask your parents really nicely and go on a volunteering adventure that could change your life.

State Parks

Many state parks offer volunteering options for students. You can engage in activities like maintenance, trail construction, or educational programs. You can be a part of preserving the park and all its natural beauty.

Contact your own state park or check out their website for contact information and possible information about volunteering options you can engage in. Just think of it as an excuse to spend some time out soaking up some nature.

Work on an Organic Farm

Available in many countries, WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) lets you experience the simple life for yourself. You can work on a farm in a variety of different countries, ranging from the US, to Australia, to India. You’ll likely work 4-6 hours a day helping out with the day to day farm chores and earning valuable skills and experience you can take with you in life. As the types of farms vary, you could find yourself staying at anything from a vineyard to a farm that specializes in cheese making.

You can stay at the host farm for as long as you and the host family agree on. If you want to cut costs on travel expenses, you might be able to stay on a farm in your home country. If you’re under 18, your options on available countries abroad might be limited, but there are still some places you can go.

Animal Shelters

If you’re an animal lover, you may also consider helping out at your local animal shelter. A lot of animal shelters have extensive volunteer programs (with some being entirely run by volunteers). Volunteers are always welcome to come in and care for the animals, clean up, and make appearances with some of the animals to aid adoption. Call your local animal shelter or check out their website if you’d like to work with some cuddly critters in your off time.

As you can see, the opportunities for young social entrepreneurs to volunteer are endless. Start researching your ideal method of volunteering and see if you can get involved sometime soon. Don’t think it won’t make a difference. It will probably make more of a difference than you can possibly imagine.

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Contributed by Nick Bartholomew

You are a leader. You can lead. The question is, how do you develop that ability to lead? While there are leadership programs for girls that teach the basics, there are also alternative routes to success. Here are six ideas that you can do to build leadership skills!

1) Get Passionate!

What do I mean by “get passionate?” Well, study your passions. Read about them. If there are opposing views to what you are passionate about, study those, too, so that you will know both sides. Do a lot of reading. For instance, do you want to manage your own business? Read biographies about those who have done so and been successful at it. Do you want to be a leader for girls’ education in Africa? Study the history of girls’ education and what is currently being done to support it. After you research, take action and blog/vlog about what you are learning. Not only will others start to see your initiative, but you also will grow in wisdom and leadership. And remember, as Lisa Kleypas put it, “[a] well-read woman is a dangerous creature.”

2) Take an Entrepreneurship Class or Attend a Camp!

Even if you are not planning on opening your own business, studying entrepreneurship as a teen is a great way to build leadership skills. You will learn about strategic plans of action, how to develop back-up ideas, how to manage assets and work as a team with people, how to make ethical decisions, etc. Skills such as these make influential leaders because they translate across all areas of leadership, not just business management. Check to see if your school or local college offers a basic entrepreneurship class, or even a summer entrepreneur camp for teens!

3) Start Martial Arts!

What? That’s just for ninjas or boys, right? Wrong! Martial arts teaches some great leadership skills. You will start from the bottom like everyone else, but as you work your way up, you will soon be helping others learn their kicks and punches. You will develop discipline, focus, and a greater respect for others, plus some really great friends. A couple of years ago, I never would have imagined myself teaching both children and adults martial arts, but now I help lead whole classes and have grown more confident in my ability to lead others. And not only will you be developing good leadership skills, but you will also have a lot of fun! If you do decide to start, make sure you find an accredited school with people who are constructive and encouraging. These two factors make or break your martial arts experience.

4) Start a Campaign!

Help raise money and support for the things that you care about. Use your interests to guide you. Like to run? Create a 5k to raise funds. Do you prefer theater? Direct a play to build support for your cause. Your leadership skills will grow tremendously through your creativity, your teamwork with those who help you, and your hard work.

5) Volunteer to Teach!

What are your hobbies? What are your unique skills and talents? Help others enjoy what you love, too. Take time not only to learn from others, but also to teach. If you love sports or politics, volunteer as a coach at a youth sports camp, or tutor debate skills at a girls leadership camp. Or if sports and leadership camps for girls aren’t your thing, and you, say, draw all the time, offer to lead an art class at a local art or community center. Do not feel awkward or afraid. Enjoy helping others learn, and learn from your mistakes. This is one of the best ways to develop leadership skills.

6) Get Out of Your Comfort Zone!

Leaders become leaders through initiative and experience. So take the initiative, and go experience the world! GLA offers several programs all over the world which partner with you to help communities and families, while also beckoning you to learn and to lead. Whether you are participating in a social entrepreneurship program in Africa or playing with kids in Peru, your leadership skills will be taken to the next level through being forced out of your comfort zone and jumping into leadership, even if you do not feel you are totally ready. That is how leaders lead, and you can do the same.

Well, are you ready to develop your leadership skills? Dive into these ideas or your own, and tell us about your adventure in the comments below!

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Contributed by Addie Davis

Attention all high school students who love to write: You may be a naturally-gifted writer if you are more than a shopaholic, you are a certified bookaholic. Your mug either has a quote from C.S. Lewis or resembles the book cover of  F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Last but not least, you love to write! Writing is more than a daunting task, it’s your healthy yet obsessive craft. Now that we have established your talented trade in writing, it’s time to foster and grow your writing into a masterpiece. One effective way is to enroll in a journalism class next semester or the semester after.

I did not have the opportunity to take journalism in high school; in fact, my first class wasn’t until the second semester of my freshman year of college. Let’s just say I was a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. I was so used to writing in freeform that I found reprogramming my writing to follow the journalistic model of writing to be quite the challenge. As a self-proclaimed contender of challenges, I happily accepted and succeed in the challenge. I still to this day remember how the Inverted Pyramid works without any assistance from a cheat sheet: lead (who, what, when, where, why and how), body (background) and tail (extra information). The only aspect I would change from my experience with journalism is taking a course in it high school. To save you from making the same mistake that I made, here are some convincing arguments on why you should include a journalism class in your class schedule.

Broaden Your Writing

Like the assortment of literary genres available, there are different types of journalistic writing.

1.      News (Straightforward and to the point)

2.      Columns (Personal Perspective)

3.      Feature (Mixture of Column and News)

4.      Investigative (Literary Detective)

Having exposure to the above types of journalism will transfer well to other forms of writing. Some of the greatest writers dabbled in journalism: Claude McKay, Maya Angelou and Rudyard Kipling to name a few. From poetry to best-selling novels, you will become a master of all writing trades.

Learn Other Useful Skills

Learning the craft of writing and mastering Associated Press (AP) style are not the only skills you will obtain. You will develop strong creative, critical thinking and social skills that are transferable to your current and future studies. In the age of where digital technology runs supreme, you will also learn how to use Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and other software programs that are key for a journalist to succeed.

Gain Valuable Experience

Taking a journalism class is definitely something to consider if you aspire to be the next head anchor for Nightly News, columnist writer for The Washington Post or just a general career in journalism. The more hands-on experience you develop in your high school journalism class will prepare you for college and your dream career in journalism. Also, your journalism experience may provide opportunities to cover stories around the world (which is the win-win of all situations).

Still not convinced of all the benefits a journalism class can provide you? Take the class and experience the results yourself. You still need electives to graduate, right?

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Contributed by Courtney Liddell