Curtis Westbay
Edwin Day
Jennifer GunterMr. Westbay
Activity: choir
Why I did it:
I liked singing from a young age. We would sing every week at my motherâs church. In elementary, everyone was in the choir. In junior high, it became optional. I just decided to stay in the choir because it was something that I enjoyed.
Why I remember it:
I was in the concert choir, the show choir (which combined singing and dancing), and school musical theater productions. It was a big part of my life, and because I spent so much time on choir, I made many friends while participating. I couldnât tell you what happened in any of my classes in high school, but I still have vivid memories of times spent with friends at show choir competitions. I think I remember choir because it brought me happiness.
How it prepared me for college:
I donât know if it did, really. After high school, I didnât participate in vocal music organizations any more. That said, it was something that I did for many years (as an elective, from G7 to G12), and so it was worthy of including in college applications. I only applied to two colleges, but itâs possible (even likely) that my commitment to something was noted by whomever reviewed my application.
Why I would (or wouldnât) do it again:
I think I would do it again. I tried instrumental music, but I didnât connect with it the same way. Choir was a place where I often felt an emotional connection to the work I was doing. It was part of my childhood, and when something is that ingrained in your identity, I think you find the value in it where others donât. A stirring vocal performance still affects me emotionally, so I think that a love of choir is something I couldnât escape, not that I would try.
Activity: cross country (long-distance running)
Why I did it:
I loved basketball for as long as I can remember. As a little kid, I wore a Penny Hardaway jersey, unless I was wearing a Dennis Rodman jersey. When I was about 13, I asked my mom for Tracy McGradyâs âT-Macâ shoes, but she said that they were too expensive. She told me that, if she bought them for me, there would be no other gifts for Christmas or my birthday that year. I gladly took that deal, and then I played so much basketball, there were holes in those shoes by the next year.
But I was short and chubby. I asked a basketball coach how I could make the team in G8 after I was cut in G7. He told me, âYou canât make yourself taller. Just control the things you can control. You can work hard and have better conditioning than everyone else, so do that.â I joined the cross country team a few months later. They practiced six days a week at 5:30AM all summer. I joined, and then I stayed for another six years, all the way through high school.
Why I remember it:
The conditioning paid off right away. I made the basketball team in G8, then I was a starting player in G9. But at that point, cross country and basketball came into conflict. Cross country involved practice for about 10 months a year, six days a week. We were running somewhere between 5-8km most days of the week, with a long run of around 10-15km once a week. We had speed training some days, tempo runs (where youâd run your distance according to a segmented pace, e.g. 30 seconds at 7:00min/mile pace, then a minute at 8:00, etc.). Even though it was a monotonous exercise, it never felt that way. I would run with the same few guys every day for years. They became my dearest friends. We would run, then get ready for school, then eat breakfast, then mess around (sometimes we played dodgeball or collected acorns, like squirrels) to kill the time.
I remember it because I went from being a follower, a pudgy 12 year-old, to a leader. I felt like I was part of something, and that it took resilience to stay around. It made me proud to track my runs. At first, I could barely go a mile and a half. By the end of high school, I finished a 25km race and routinely put in 80-100km a week on the roads of my hometown. I remember cross country because it brought me friends, fitness, pride, and belonging. I still love basketball, but you never know how one choice will change the trajectory of your life.
How it prepared me for college:
While I was solid, I wasnât great at long-distance running. I could run 5km in about 19-20 minutes. This was nowhere near good enough to be a varsity athlete in college, where the top athletes could beat that time by at least 4 minutes, oftentimes more. But it was so important to my college scholarship. For my military scholarship, I had to run 2 miles in less than 15:54. This seemed so easy for me after all those years of running. When I had to do a physical fitness test to qualify for the scholarship, I was done in under 13 minutes.
Our students can get disappointed when theyâre not the best. I wasnât the best at cross country in high school, but I found out quickly that my best was more than good enough in a different context. You never know when that hard work is going to make you an inspiration or a standout to your classmates in college. You might not be the best at something in an academically rigorous school like ours, but then when you get to college, your classmates will be coming to you for help.
Why I would (or wouldnât) do it again:
I would absolutely do it again. Iâm lucky to have avoided the knee and back pain that many other runners have, but even with the pain, I would be happy to do it again. Running taught me discipline and consistency, and how to set my goals in the context of my own ability.
Activity: SkillsUSA
Why I did it:
This organization was a pre-professional vocational organization for high school students. Most of the students involved were preparing for direct entry into a career after college, usually in a vocational industry like automotive technology (fixing cars), computer technology (IT), nursing (theyâd need some college for that), or electrical repair. I was in a computer programming class at the technical centerâ a place for students at my high school to learn trades and vocations. I took several classes there, including agriculture science. I really enjoyed the hands-on classes.
SkillsUSA had competitions for students, like a computer programming competition or a quiz bowl. I was never very good at the former (I still struggle with coding), but I was a member of our quiz bowl team for three years. Again, I wasnât the best on the team or anything, but it was fun to play trivia and represent my school.
When I was in G11, I ran for state leadership of the organization, and I was elected as the state president. I was now responsible for conducting the official business for this organization and its 10,000 or so high school members.
Why I remember it:
I remember SkillsUSA because it felt useful, to me. I know itâs ironic, seeing as I majored in Latin, but I just found classes like computer programming and electronics repair to be more useful than English and history. But I also really enjoyed the competitions and the ability to represent my school and community. Most people where I am from have lived there (or nearby) for their entire lives. Whenever I was competing on behalf of my high school in athletics, academic, or vocational contests, I felt proud. Again, the bond I felt with my classmates was what I remember most.
How it prepared me for college:
Well, I entered college in 2008. At the time, most students didnât have personal computers. Knowing how to use a computer was not really an expectation back then, but I am glad to have learned so much about computer technology when I was in high school.
The real preparation came from my time as a state officer. I had to learn parliamentary procedure, leadership, compromise, and communication. Nowhere else was there greater pressure on me as a public speaker than in SkillsUSA, where I would be on the stage in front of thousands of students and teachers.
Why I would (or wouldnât) do it again:
I would do this again. (In fact, if I could do it all over again, I might have taken my teacherâs advice from high school to not go to college and instead take an apprenticeship as an electrician!) It was fun and practical, and it made me part of a team.
Ms. Gunter
Activity: Ice Hockey - Goalie
Why I did it:
I came from an ice hockey family and started playing when I was four. If you are a Gunter, you play hockey; itâs a rule.
Why I remember it:
Hockey was a huge part of my life from when I was four to when I moved overseas at 24. I came from a family of goalies, so I was a goalie, too. There was no girlsâ team when I was young, so I played on boysâ teams all the way up through high school varsity including playing on a travelling varsity when I was 13 and most of the other players were 18. We won the provincial championships when I was in Grade 12. My parents had to fight for me to be allowed on those teams including in the face of legal battles. I learned through that that sometimes you just have to persist and that you have to persist even more stridently when things are hard. While playing boysâ varsity, I also helped form and coach a girlsâ varsity team which was one of my first experiences of teaching.
How it prepared me for college:
Being a part of a team is a big life skill. Aside from the obvious parts of that, learning time management was a big thing that I got from sports. I was playing hockey for two or three hours a day, everyday, and I had a part time job in high school, so I had to learn to manage my school work effectively and to be very efficient with the time that I had available.
Why I would (or wouldnât) do it again:
I would 100% do it again. It was the best thing I did in high school.
Activity: Student Council, Secretary
Why I did it:
I have always been inclined to seek leadership opportunities.
Why I remember it:
I had to run for election in the whole 1200 person school which required bravery. I won when I was in Grade 11 and lost when I was in Grade 12 (to a popular boy. Eye roll!) Both winning and losing were impactful experiences. Aside from all of the job skills I learned, one really cool thing about this was that I got an office.
How it prepared me for college:
I learned so many things. Organizational skills, budgeting for large projects, people skills, working with people outside my social circle, etc.
Why I would (or wouldnât) do it again:
I would do it again. It was a lot of work, but it was fun enough and I learned a lot from doing it.
Activity: Poetry Magazine, Editor
Why I remember it:
I was really into poetry in high school - writing and reading. Taking the lead on editing and producing a magazine was a cool experience and we remember - this was before computers. We had to type everything on typewriters!
How it prepared me for college:
I learned people skills and time management and had to talk with adults in the business world which were all things I used again in college.
Why I would (or wouldnât) do it again:
I would definitely do it again. It was fun.
Activity: Concert Band, Tenor Saxophone
Why I did it:
This was something totally new for me, so I liked that. Also, I was (am) terrible at art and was too socially cautious to do drama (though I really wish I had done drama).
Why I remember it:
I played for four years, and we went to competitions.
How it prepared me for college:
Being in band also helped me with time management which was good. It taught me to step outside my comfort zone.
Why I would (or wouldnât) do it again:
I would do it again for a year or two, but, if I could do high school again, I would definitely tried different elective classes rather than sticking to the same one.
Mr. Day
Activity: Wrestling Team
Why I did it:
As a little kid, I loved to eat. This made me chubby, especially since I was still really short. Also as a kid, I loved watching this television family sitcom called Full House. In that show there was a character named Steve who was captain of his high school wrestling team, and part of Steveâs schtick on the show was that since he always wrestled, he could eat as much of anything as he wanted to and still remain fit. For whatever reason, in my adolescent mind, I associated wrestling with being the key that would heal my relationship with food and weight.
So, as stupid as this sounds, a 13 year old freshman me initially joined the wrestling team to become like Steve from Full House, in that I wanted to be able to eat as much of anything as I wanted to and not gain weight. Luckily I discovered that I really enjoyed the sport, and had my own fair share of accomplishments within it over those next four years.
Why I remember it:
Unlike a lot of popular sports other students played like football or basketball, wrestling isnât a team sport. Sure, youâre on a wrestling team, but when youâre on the mat, itâs one-on-one vs your opponent. Whether I won or lost didnât depend on whether someone else scored the game-winner or blew the lead, it was solely on me. I loved the feeling of being in control of my own destiny, and knowing that whether I won or lost was dependent almost entirely on me being the better wrestler.
How it prepared me for college:
I ended up going to a large public university, and one thing about large public universities vs smaller private universities is that nobody really holds your hand. It required students to learn how to be independent very quickly. I think I was able to climb this learning curve quicker than most because I learned how to be and succeed on my own because of my experience as a wrestler.
Why I would (or wouldnât) do it again:
I would definitely do it again. Even wrestling non-competitively, itâs excellent for physical fitness. If you wrestle regularly, you really can be like Steve and eat as much of anything as you want. Also, it isnât a striking combat sport like boxing or MMA. Instead, itâs more about endurance and leverage, so in that respect, you can âfightâ with others without worrying about getting hit in the face.
I donât want to be hit in the face.
Activity: Key Club
Why I did it:
For this activity, Iâm going to hit you with a dose of reality. Key Club is basically a recognized community service club at American high schools. However, I didnât join Key Club because I had some pining desire to clean up beaches or raise money for charities. I joined Key Club only because I thought it would look good on my college applications.
And, a girl I had a crush on asked me too.
Why I remember it:
If I could create a club called the âDo Things Just For College Applications & Not Because You Really Careâ club, it would have looked like Key Club (at least at my high school). Knowing a lot of other people in my class, I knew they were also there for similar reasons as me. When it came to actually doing things, it was like the blind leading the blind because nobody actually wanted to do anything but only be able to say they did something.
This is why I remember Key Club. The whole thing struck me as hilarious and pretty ridiculous. However, I can really only speak to the Key Club at my high school during my time there. Iâm sure there are plenty of Key Clubs elsewhere that do awesome, valuable things for their communities.
How it prepared me for college:
I listed it as an activity in my college applications. Did it actually help in helping me get into the colleges I did? I doubt it, but Iâm sure it didnât hurt. As far as actual preparation goes,...it helped me learn to better socialize for clubs I ended up joining in college,.....maybe?
Why I would (or wouldnât) do it again:
I would not do it again. It taught me that I personally hate performative tasks and to not spend your time on things youâre not genuinely interested in because of any perceived superficial benefits you think you might get out of it. Time is too valuable for that.