Extracurriculars for High Schoolers

Hello Kisha!

As far as opportunities go, I think it would be best to stay local. After all, even something as simple as volunteering at your local nursing home or hospital goes a long way in terms of experience. Another good option would to look into becoming a CNA (certified nursing assistant). While I'm not sure what state you live in, some states allow 16 and 17 year olds to become CNAs with parental consent. In addition to showing your commitment to medicine, becoming a CNA also offers a lot of job opportunities. The one downside is that classes can be quite expensive, but it pays off in the long run.

In school activities are helpful as well. I recommend joining your school's HOSA club. If you don't have this club at your school, find a teacher to sponsor it!

If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to leave me a comment!

hi kisha, have you looked into the future medical leaders program? this year theyre doing things online due to the pandemic but they plan on opening up some conferences next year i believe. even though its online it's still supposed to be a fun experience, they have an online conference date that i plan on attending in the spring. normally you would be able to go to one of many schools across the US under one of the undergrad programs and spend a week or more there getting practical experience with a conference at the end of it all. however because of the pandemic we will be doing a live conference in which we'll be able to communicate with a surgeon as they do surgery and have a few guest speakers. i applied for a scholarship and despite being a minority everything worked out. i recommend it, you'll be in contact with alumni for the rest of your life and have several certificates for the time in which you participated.

When my brother was in high school, he volunteered at a local hospital— maybe check that out to see if there are opportunities in that realm