@twogirls We had the same experience. My daughter won best of fair at our county science fair at that same age. It was quite a thrill at the time, but a few years later that award was forgotten and never mentioned during the college application process.
Another vote for letting this child find things he enjoys instead of trying to boost some future resume.
My daughter just recently realized she had volunteered last school year (as a 14-15 year old). She offered to be a co-coach for one of the middle school Science Olympiad events and is planning to continue it throughout high school since it was a great experience. She has actually spent a bit of time this summer planning what she will be teaching the younger kids. I actually liked that she did it because she wanted to do it and not because she was looking for some sort of volunteer experience that would pad some future resume. Maybe something like that will happen for your son as he just explores opportunities around him.
(Also, for anyone reading, Red Cross Lifeguard certification includes first aid, CPR, and oxygen. My daughter did complete that certification this summer as it was something she has wanted to do since she was 6 and watching people in the pool swimming with a brick as part of their lifeguard test)
I assume that by “improve his resume,” the OP just meant something that is more productive and maybe academic than playing video games or watching TV. In general I think people should be understanding towards posters who speak English as a second language, and not take their words so literally when they explain that they actually meant something else.
Some of my doctor friends had actual careers before entering med school including, but not limited to, physical therapist, Realtor, mechanical engineer, middle school history teacher, and lawyer. Something tells me that none of their 9th grade science projects were directly involved in their acceptances to med school.
We have not been able to find any lifeguard classes that would take under 16
Thank you twogirls. Last year my son joined the yearbook. He did the yearbook workshop at Jostens. At school he was handed a Nikon camera and had to take pictures of the students in the classroom, cafeteria, etc. Then he worked in editing. He really liked it.
Now, he sent me those links I posted here with stem projects other kids are working on, and he would like to join something like that. Some kids in his school have formed stem clubs but have not included him.
Volunteer positions at a doctor’s office or hospital has a minimum age of 16. From what I found out in this forum. So he can maybe volunteer there in 2 more years.
Teen Court is something he’s very exited about. He showed me some videos in youtube. They start as jurors and with more experience they can be an “attorney” and even a teen judge. I think every session it adds about 5 hours of volunteer time to his NJHS requirements.
School clubs cannot exclude anyone.
^^Of course clubs can exclude people. National Honor Society excludes a good part of the school. Destination Imagination. Anything with a try out.
She said these were STEM clubs started by other students.
No one that has plans for college and post-graduate work gets a job at 14 that literally supports their future career that directly, like learning how to do an angioplasty or working on the Innocence Project. The meaning is obvious, and supported by many of your other posts that make it clear you are looking for him to have experiences that help him for college. Anything beyond that is a stretch that is frankly unrealistic, as many have told you. It would be different if his ambition were to be a bricklayer or landscaper, but it isn’t.
Your latest response to my post comes across as somewhat disingenuous, IMO (and apparently a couple of others at least), and that doesn’t help at all. If you aren’t clear in your own mind and goals what it is you are trying to achieve, then none of this does any good at all because as dozens have told you, it is unrealistic to think a 14 year old is likely to get a “career enlightening” job. Your post #85 seems far more realistic and useful to his development as a student and person. If you agree with that, there are many brain camps listed in the CTY catalogs as well as other activities, and an online search can unearth more. If you agree, then you have your answer, at least in part. I also agree that at 16, more things can open up to a young person in terms of possible experiences, although most will still be (and should be) more along the lines of developing whatever interests they have and/or exposing them to new things, and helping them become the best person they can be academically, socially, and emotionally. For some that is learning the discipline of daily, hard shift work, even if it is at McDonald’s, and for others it is attending high level academic programs that challenge them among that peer group. There isn’t one answer for everyone, and to be clear I understand you never said there was. For your son it would seem to be the latter path.
My second child just turned 14 (yes, I have two, lol) and she spent her summer babysitting. It was the hardest, most frustrating yet most rewarding thing she’s done. She babysat three kids, and learned a lot about people and motivation - things she still talks about. She could probably write a kick-ass essay on how to get a surly four-year-old to eat lunch while keeping her out of the dog’s cage. She wanted to earn money, and there wasn’t much available. She would have volunteered somewhere, but as has been stated a lot of places have age limitations.
She also just earned her black belt, and has started getting paid (!) to teach classes at her dojo. This was nearly six years in coming, but can show where a hobby might lead to.
I think developing hobbies or interests is probably most important at this age. Yes, it could lead somewhere but it’s more to find out what the child wants. A kid interested in computers could volunteer at the library to help patrons at the terminals. Some nursing homes welcome younger volunteers to help adult volunteers with activities (that’s what my older daughter does). I wouldn’t even be thinking “what can this do for me?” at this age.
No college admissions officer, even at Harvard is expecting a kid of 13 or 14 to have real world achievements or to be winning high stakes competitions. (They might have Science Olympiad or Model UN type awards and if the school team is good enough perhaps even at the state level, but otherwise 13-14 year olds should be mostly learning stuff.) Learning you hate retail, is a fine thing to learn. Going to music camp is fine. Being a counselor or counselor in training is fine. One of my nephews who went to Harvard spent a couple of summers at Circus Smirkus. In 9th grade my kid who got into Harvard did a CTY camp, and then some job shadowing.
And there are always plenty of kids at the HYPM collection of schools who have pretty ordinary looking achievements. Really.
In post #15 this was mentioned:
“on another thread you’re asking about the career paths of Harvard Med School students.”
For this reason I was under the impression you were looking to find “better” opportunities that he could be involved in summer that would help in his path to a career in medicine or law.
Every middle school and high school offers a variety of opportunities. Has your son spoken with his school guidance counselor about his interests? I am willing to bet they are familiar with what other students have been involved in since they deal with so many students. Maybe he can start a club where they ask parents in different careers to come speak about their fields and allow students to ask them questions for exploration.
Model UN and Odyssey of the Mind are two clubs he maybe interested in learning more about and getting involved in. Another good thing to get in the habit of is quality reading. Read a variety of books to building his comprehension and vocabulary. Read a newspaper to get up to date on current events. Read online about different careers. I am sure there are books out there that talk about different careers- what areas of study are needed, what personal qualities are helpful, what are the career prospects for the future. One thing I realized is that there are so many new careers and degrees available that did not exist compared to when I attended college. Look at what subjects he is very strong in. Have him offer to help other middle school students by tutoring them. This experience can later help him get a job tutoring at a center like Kumon if he likes math. When he picks out his school year electives pick ones in STEM if that is what he is interested in. Later on he can start a program to introduce elementary school kids to that subject area.
If he is interested in medicine have him explore all the different jobs available in healthcare. Does he have interest in learning about one particular area in science? For example natural remedies people use in place of medicines. He can do his own research about how different cultures rely on natural remedies to treat chronic illnesses. That can be his own independent research project that he can build upon. I am using natural remedies as just one example of a self created research project.
Main thing he needs to be is a self starter. Does he love learning because it fulfills his curiosity or is he only learning what he needs to get an A in a class. There’s a difference. Sometimes we have to create our own opportunities.
My friend was an art major in college. She is now a dentist. She said as an art major that was very helpful in her career because art is very hands on and as a dentist she has to have a steady hand for the procedures she performs on patients since she has to do her work with precision. The main point being every experience is going to add some value and added knowledge that will help him discover what he is truly interested in.
Circus Smirkus sounds great but it’s far from home. CTY and job shadowing for 9th grade is great. That’s what we’re considering for next summer.
raclut, thanks for your suggestions. Tutoring at Mathnesium or Kumon would be great for his junior or senior year.
Some at his school are involved in Model UN. Never heard of Odyssey of the Mind. The debate team also is a great experience. But if he does teen court he may not need to participate in a debate team. He participated in a book club this summer. He read many books and really enjoyed it. That kept him away from Pokemon Go for a while. I also ended up reading some of his book, such as Flowers for Algernon. As I explained before, he hasn’t been able to find a stem club and all I got from the principal was a brochure for summer camps. I’ll check with his new science teacher.
He likes healthcare, but not pharmacy because his uncle is a pharmacist and has feet problems because he has to be standing for about 12 hours. He may like veterinary tough.
Thanks mathmom and raclut for all your suggestions! I saved all your suggestions and emailed them to myself for future reference. I got more that what I was expecting from all of you.
By the way. I’m not a mom, I’m a dad. Sometimes I feel like Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs Kramer.
smithsonian29,
You seem to not understand one thing about the list of projects done by CTY participants.
In order to get INTO a CTY camp the student has to be very smart in the first place. Those who are very smart are statistically going to have a greater chance of acceptances at better colleges then those who arent.
As another poster mentioned, there are tens of thousands of kids who go to CTY camps each year.
CTY, and similar camps for smart kids should be thought of as ENRICHMENT opportunities ONLY - chances for smart kids to meet equally smart peers and learn about subjects not normally taught in middle school.
MY very smart DS also went to CTY camps in 7& 8th grades. But one of the reasons he got into 12 colleges was the independent research in an area that had always fascinated HIM, which he began with a scientist during the summer of his Jr year.
CTY was never mentioned on his college applications.
What is important is to let your DS discover what interests HIM. And then encourage him to pursue those interests.
Because there is no better “formula”.
I’m not suggesting Circus Smirkus specifically - it’s just an example of the kind of thing that is just fine to do.
i just want to add my sympathy for the OP. CC is a haven for the touchy parent (I consider myself one and I feel at home here). But we’re only touchy because we have so much interest in the process and the outcomes!
About the search for opportunities. I have a kid around this age. There are very few opportunities, relative to what there are in later high school or even in earlier middle school. When I am asked by fellow scouting parents about where kids can get experiences and volunteer, there are a few organizations that really are champions for the 13-14-15 year old volunteering/working kids…I have no idea how they work out insurance liability issues, but I have to hand it to them. In our area this includes the public library, the community food pantry, our in town YMCA, a nature center, a couple of non chain restaurants that hire down to 14 year olds and a local nursing home/assisted living community (they actually called me looking for kid volunteers and yes, the kids push residents in wheelchairs as part of their duties). It does NOT include the hospital, the closest (and nicest) animal shelter and other such places. In your town, YMMV. The teachers are not such a great source of information about this where I live…scout leaders and other parents are a better resource.
Sue 22 I love your story about the paintings…I know some kids that might love to build their art portfolios doing something like that!
Exactly, that’s why those CTY 8-9th grade achievements, while being great for personal development, won’t be considered in college admission in a meaningful way.
While it is definitely doable for some kids, for most it just is impractical to pad resume at 13-14. So it is better to focus on personal growth and not resume padding. It’s not too late to start resume padding at 15~16, when a lot of great opportunities open up.
I do care about resume padding and I am totally not against it. In fact, I have been doing that for my daughter.
For fine arts, she had two personal exhibits at a local community college’s gallery at 10. She was selected and exhibited on college, national, and international juried art shows for adults that somehow didn’t include min age 18 requirements at 11~12. She didn’t get any award, but usually less than 30% of applicants are even selected to exhibit. At 13, she submitted to several art works to Scholastic and all got regional gold keys, although she didn’t get any national medal. She will continue those activities, and will have significant arts EC by 17 hopefully with some national award.
I have also investigated many internship or selective/inclusive summer camps, organized by age and grade requirements. And my conclusion was that a resume-padding-worthy internship or camp is very hard to come by at 14. And it is better to focus on learning.
But again, it is possible where your kid has talent and interest. Next Summer, at 14, daughter will join an all day, 4 weeks Sculpture workshop for adult artists that normally requires min 16 yo for safety reasons and nude models. That was possible, will help her personal development, and hopefully pad her EC list too, because she has deep interest in that specific field, talent, and track record (about juried shows as well as 10 college art courses)
You just can’t get one easily open to everyone and hope that it will be resume worthy. Not something that has low requirements and will accept any kids with good academics as long as they pay, something like CTY. If your kid don’t have a specific talent / interest yet, it is better to forget the resume building and focus on what would be best for his personal growth.
Volunteer at humane society would be great if he can get. It may help more than what CTY possibly can in terms of making him a more attractive candidate for resume-padding-worthy internships at 16. Unlike camp, internship is, at least somewhat, a work. Many employers do care what your kids can contribute to them and not only what your kids can learn from it. Demonstrated responsibility and maturity are very helpful.
SculptorDad,
I think you’re using the term “resume padding” in other than the generally accepted way.
Resume padding is adding meaningless or even false achievements or awards to one’s resume, or in this case, college applications. Examples would be listing yourself as the president of club that met only once or has no other members or signing up for an activity in which you have no interest and plan to drop as soon as applications are submitted just to have something to put in the EC slots on the common app.
It sounds to me like your daughter is pursuing her genuine interests.