"Grow through what you go through."| A Duke Student's Advice on Extracurriculars

We had the opportunity of interviewing Erin, a student at Duke University about: Extracurriculars

Erin tells us that she

• is a Benjamin N. Duke scholar at Duke University

• works as the @DukeStudents twitter editor

• has taken sports photos for the Duke Chronicle

• loves basketball

• and is currently taking a gap year.

Here are some important words she shares:

• "Working with other people to make that summer as fun as possible for little kids was quite the challenge, but it definitely pushed me to work on my communication skills and figure out how to work well with others."

• "I’d say the extracurricular that had the greatest impact on me was starting my own club, called the Conversation. The goal was to create a safe space for students at my school to talk about political issues that they wanted to discuss."

Q: Were you involved in a variety of activities or did you focus on one theme in all your extracurriculars?

A: I was involved in a variety of activities in high school! I just did what I was interested in at the time, which was mainly service activities and environmental projects with my school’s Beta club and Green Team.

Q: Honing in on your time as a camp counselor for 4-H (I was personally involved in 4_H as a kid and I still have fond memories of it), how do you think this has developed your leadership, communication, and teamwork skills?

A: 4-H was so much fun! Working with other people to make that summer as fun as possible for little kids was quite the challenge, but it definitely pushed me to work on my communication skills and figure out how to work well with others. Also, little kids are not the best listeners! They helped me become a better leader through much trial and error.

Q: Out of your extracurriculars, which one would you say made the greatest impact on you or that you had the greatest impact on and why?

A: I’d say the extracurricular that had the greatest impact on me was starting my own club, called the Conversation. The goal was to create a safe space for students at my school to talk about political issues that they wanted to discuss. The club allowed me to hear different stories from my classmates and get to know them better than I would’ve otherwise. It also helped me shape my view of the world and solidify what my values are by talking them out with other people.

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